JERUSALEM, 30 August 2007 — Israel is reducing its military presence on the occupied Golan plateau and lowering its level of alert following months of increased tensions with Syria, a senior security official said yesterday. “The Israeli Army is lowering its level of alert and pulling some forces from the Golan after the Syrian Army also appears to have reduced its presence along the border,” the official told reporters on condition of anonymity.
“We will continue to conduct regular training on the plateau as part of our training following the Lebanon war” last year against the Hezbollah resistance group, which revealed major shortcomings in the army’s conduct.
The decision by Israel’s military followed months of growing tensions along the frontier and concerns that the escalation could result in war. Over the summer, media reports of impending war alternated with announcements by Syrian and Israeli leaders that they had no interest in hostilities.
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said earlier this month that “Israel does not want a war and Syria, according to our estimates, does not wish for one either.” Over the past few months, Israeli and Syrian leaders have both said their countries do not want a war, but were preparing for any possibility. Each side has accused the other of arming for a possible conflict.
Peace talks between Israel and Syria broke down in 2000 over the fate of the Golan Heights, the strategic plateau captured by Israel in the 1967 Six Day War and annexed in 1981.
Israeli forces scheduled to hold maneuvers on the Golan Heights would now be moved away from the border to the country’s south to further reduce friction, the officials said, and the army’s war-readiness status on the Israel-Syria border is now considered over.
Meanwhile, Germany has signed a $46 million cooperation agreement with Syria devoted largely to a water project, during a rare visit to Damascus by a Western minister.
German Overseas Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul signed the accord during a three-day visit during which she also offered four million euros to help build schools for Iraqi refugees and Syrian children.
In a statement, the minister praised Damascus for welcoming the estimated 1.2 million Iraqis fleeing violence in their country. “Each day, Syria welcomes 2,000 refugees from Iraq. This influx of refugees is a major challenge for the economy and Syrian society, as with other countries in the region.”
Syrian state news agency SANA said Wieczorek-Zeul had met President Bashar Assad, Prime Minister Mohammad Naji Otri and Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Abdallah Dardari.
