As the two countries are officially at war, the raid by Israeli aircraft over Syrian territory and the subsequent complaint by Damascus to the UN appear on the surface to be normal. The two countries have never made peace since the 1967 War when Israel captured and occupied the Golan Heights. However, this most recent border violation simply does not square with the many recent signals that the two sides were mending fences. During the summer came several quick spurts of news that had Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert saying his country did not want war with Syria, had urged Syria to restart direct peace talks between the two countries, and that he was ready to meet Syrian President Bashar Assad wherever the Syrian leader wanted. There were also reports that Israel’s government had sent secret messages to Syria about the possibility of renewing peace negotiations and that the Israelis and Syrians had held secret talks about a peace deal.
Then comes this sudden, unexplained border attack by Israel in which Israeli fighter planes dropped munitions after crossing Syria’s frontier. While the raid resulted in no casualties, it was a flagrant violation of Syrian airspace and, more to the point, dampened the expectations of what looked like a possible entente cordiale.
The speculations that have appeared in the Western media — one saying that Israel bombed weapons destined for Hezbollah and financed by Iran and the other asserting that the incident was related to a suspected nuclear shipment from North Korea — are just that: speculations. The fact that they have quoted “anonymous government officials” as their source is the next thing to admitting that they are stories planted with an agenda.
A Syrian deal with Israel would be momentous. All parties realize that without Syria’s involvement, there cannot be comprehensive peace in the Middle East. Full Israeli withdrawal from the Golan is an essential prerequisite for a final accord. A settlement between Syria and Israel means far more than any earlier steps in the peace process. It means that, from the historical perspective of the conflict, the Arabs have accepted the existence of Israel and committed themselves to peaceful coexistence, at least for the foreseeable future. Syria has always held itself to be the heart of pan-Arabism and the focal point for pan-Arab nationalist feelings — not to mention the center of Greater Syria or the Levant. Since the end of Israel’s war with Lebanon last year, there has been widespread speculation about the possibility of talks with Syria. But it is not clear how serious the offers from Olmert are.
Along with his professed desire for a meeting with Syria, he has repeatedly warned that a “miscalculation” could spark hostilities between the two. We also know that the Israeli military recently staged exercises in the Golan Heights. Now comes a hostile, provocative border attack. Olmert’s statements seem totally at odds with his actions.
