A new narrative may be taking hold in the Middle East, one that challenges the old story of perpetual war on Israel’s northern border. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu contributed a major new chapter on Sunday, announcing that the conflict with Hezbollah has unexpectedly led to peace talks with Syria and a potential accord with Lebanon.
The old story with Syria was one of intractable hostility, defined by the Assad regime. The fall of that dynasty has allowed a new narrative to emerge, one of direct negotiation and potential reconciliation. A Syrian official has even suggested the final chapter—a security agreement—could be written by the end of 2025.
In Lebanon, the old narrative was the dominance of Hezbollah. The new story, which Israel and the U.S. are trying to co-author, is about the rise of the sovereign Lebanese state. Beirut has started to write its own part, ordering its army to begin the process of disarming the militia.
Netanyahu presented this shift in narrative to his cabinet. “The possibility of peace… was not even imagined before our recent operations,” he said, suggesting the war was the plot twist that changed everything. He confirmed “some progress” in developing the new storyline with Syria.
This new narrative is not just fiction. It is being backed by real-world events. Syria is negotiating a demilitarized zone. Lebanon is planning to disarm Hezbollah. These actions could fundamentally change the story of the Middle East for generations to come.