Israel Might Give Up Golan

JERUSALEM: Israel has told Syria it is willing to trade land for peace and is waiting to hear whether Syrian President Bashar al- Assad will cut ties with Iran and hostile guerrilla groups in return, Israeli officials said on Friday.

One said Syrian officials had so far indicated a willingness to conduct discreet contacts that might lead to a resumption of formal peace talks after a seven-year hiatus. In two weeks, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is due to meet US President George W. Bush, who would play a crucial role in any such process.

Two days after Olmert confirmed Israel had sent conciliatory messages to Damascus, Israeli media widely reported a leak to a newspaper that quoted a senior diplomat saying Syria had been reminded that Israel was ready to discuss returning the Golan Heights, captured 40 years ago this week, if peace talks resume.

A former Israeli diplomat who has taken part in efforts to revive dialogue said Olmert – unpopular after last year’s inconclusive war with Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon – was preparing his voters for possible concessions to Syria in a process that will probably need strong US support to succeed.

A senior serving Israeli official said that Syrian officials appeared open to discreet dialogue and Israel was now trying to determine what concessions Damascus might be willing to make, notably in severing alliances with Israel’s enemies in Iran, Hezbollah and Palestinian militant movements like Hamas.

“Nobody knows the answer,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“We don’t know what is the Syrian definition of peace – if Syria will really position itself with the US and its Western allies or stay with Iran and Hezbollah and Hamas?

Agencies

(c) 2007 China Daily; North American ed.. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.