JERUSALEM: The new Israeli government will not cede the strategic Golan Heights for the sake of peace with Syria, a senior official quoted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as telling his Cabinet yesterday.
The announcement comes after heated debate among ministers about the wisdom of pursuing the indirect contacts with Syria via Turkey launched by the former government of Ehud Olmert.
The return of the strategic plateau seized by Israel in the 1967 war is a non-negotiable Syrian demand.
“I have no intention of bringing Israeli forces down from the Golan,” Netanyahu was quoted as saying. “Everything that has taken place up to this point has no relevance.” Netanyahu made similar remarks in an interview with Russian-speaking journalists last week. “Staying on the Golan Heights ensures that Israel has a strategic advantage in case of conflict with Syria,” he said.
In May last year, the Olmert government announced it had launched Turkish-brokered feelers with Syria about re-launching US-sponsored peace negotiations with Syria which were broken off in 2000.
Syria froze those indirect talks at the turn of the year when Israel launched a devastating offensive against the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, in another development, Netanyahu is heading to Egypt today to secure Cairo’s support over the Iranian nuclear drive, despite their deep differences on the Middle East peace process.
The hawkish premier will meet Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh on his first trip abroad since being sworn in on March 31.
The visit also comes just one week before Netanyahu heads to Washington to meet US President Barack Obama, who has vowed to vigorously pursue peacemaking in the Middle East.
