JERUSALEM, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday toured the buffer zone on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, the prime minister's office said, amid reports of contacts aimed at reaching a new security arrangement in the area.

Netanyahu was accompanied by Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, military chief Eyal Zamir, and Shin Bet director David Zini, among others.

"The prime minister arrived at an IDF (Israel Defense Forces) outpost where he observed the area, and then held a security briefing," the office said in a statement.

Speaking to soldiers at the outpost, Netanyahu said Israel attaches "great importance" to its capabilities, "both defensive and offensive, in this area," to "protecting our Druze allies" in the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, and "above all, to safeguarding Israel and its northern border facing the Golan."

"This is a mission that can develop at any moment," he said, without elaborating.

Israel and Syria have been holding U.S.-brokered talks on a security agreement concerning areas of southern Syria that Israeli forces have been controlling after the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

Earlier this month, Syrian interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa visited the White House, where he and U.S. President Donald Trump discussed a possible security deal and partial U.S. sanctions relief.

In the following interviews, al-Sharaa confirmed the talks but denied any imminent agreement, noting that any deal would require Israel to pull back from the areas of southern Syria it has held, a condition Israel has rejected.

Earlier this week, Israel's public broadcaster Kan reported that the talks have stalled. Enditem