In their long history of back and forths, rarely has Israel taken such a swipe at Syria. For the Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman to comment that Syrian troops would be trounced in any war with Israel and that the family of President Bashar Assad would, in the event of such a conflict, lose their hold on power is unprecedented in language and bellicosity. All this because Syria dared said, “Israel is not serious about achieving peace since all facts point out that Israel is pushing the region toward war, not peace.”
Following that statement, Lieberman described Syria as having crossed the red line. But the foreign minister must himself have exceeded all limits of diplomatic civility.
Damascus did warn Tel Aviv that future conflicts would involve Israel’s cities as well as its armies, but a big piece of Syria’s land is occupied by Israel, justifying Syria’s position. Odd that Lieberman’s bellicose language contrasted sharply with a statement Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued only the day before, saying Israel sought peace “and doesn’t rule out any assistance by a fair third party, to promote the political process in order to begin peace talks with Syria without any preconditions.” This was supposed to dampen speculation about an increased likelihood of war between Israel and Syria, not ratchet up the tension. What may have turned Israel from a peace seeker to a warmonger in 24 hours could have been the news that Syria and the US are edging closer. Washington has submitted to Damascus the name of its proposed new ambassador to Syria, the first since 2005 in the latest step toward improving ties with Damascus.
The long-tense relations between Syria and the US started to improve after Barack Obama took office in January last year. His predecessor George W. Bush first imposed economic and diplomatic sanctions in May 2004. The sanctions were renewed by the Obama administration in May. However, a few months earlier a top American Middle East team visited Syria. Since then, various US government officials have visited Syria, including the Mideast envoy George Mitchell. Lieberman’s remarks thus reflect panic within the Israeli government as Syria’s relationship with the US improves. Syria’s ties with Israel could also have improved. Over the past few years, the Syrians maintained they could make peace if Israel pledges to withdraw from all occupied territories. The Israelis, until recently at least, didn’t contest this point concerning the Golan. Indeed, Israeli governments starting with Rabin’s in 1993 and including Barak’s in 2000 said they would withdraw from the Golan Heights. Unlike Tel Aviv, Washington wants peace in the region, and it is in its best interests to make peace with Damascus first. For the Syrians, too, want a peace, one that leads to Israel’s withdrawal from all occupied Arab territories, not Syria’s alone. Damascus has made it clear that the peace it seeks should be in keeping with the Arab peace initiative.
The ultranationalist Lieberman has stirred controversy before with statements that Arab-Israeli lawmakers who meet Palestinian activists should be executed and later apologized for a comment directed at Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Lieberman is to be reined in after Netanyahu spoke with him about his diatribe, later asking all his ministers to refrain from speaking out about the Syrian issue. Lieberman is now muzzled, at least on Syria.
