In a recent talk show, Syrian President Bashar Assad expressed his wish for peaceful relations with Israel if the latter desired it. He was, however, skeptical of the Ehud Olmert government’s willingness to make such a decisive move.
Israel immediately reacted to the Syrian offer with two contradicting statements. Deputy Premier Shimon Peres invited Assad to visit Jerusalem and deliver a speech at the Israeli Parliament (Knesset) to prove his sincerity.
On the contrary, the Israeli premier’s official spokeswoman, Meiry Aysin, said that Israel always wanted peace, but it would not engage in direct talks with Syria as long as it supported militia groups in Lebanon and elsewhere. The spokesperson made no one in doubt that the Israeli premier was rejecting the Syrian president’s historic offer.
In another development, the Knesset’s foreign and defense affairs committee warned Syria of military action if it continued smuggling weapons to the Hezbollah in Lebanon in violation of the UN Resolution 1701. In the wake of Israel’s rejection of his peace proposal, President Bashar told a Kuwaiti newspaper that his soldiers are in a state of heightened alert to meet any hostile action from across the border, particularly in the Golan Heights where Israel has reportedly been making heavy military mobilization.
Rovini Erlek, head of the intelligence and counter terror division at Israel’s Center for Specialized Studies urged Olmert government to take the Syrian threat very seriously. He pointed out that Assad’s policies that focused on strengthening Hezbollah in Lebanon, supporting Iran’s anti-Israeli policies and the Iraqi resistance was a sufficient reason to launch an immediate attack on Syria. Though Israel officially denied any mobilization of its military against Syria, an American news site with close links to the Israeli intelligence confirmed the massive military and security preparations now going on in Israel.
According to the news site, Israel has been deploying its army along the Golan Heights and at its border with Syria in an unprecedented manner. The fact has been confirmed by several Israeli settlers at the Golan. They told the local media that they have noted massive military movements in the borders lately.
It is quite unlikely that Israel would entertain any offer for peace while Olmert is setting the stage for a military showdown with Syria and throw the region again into a state of war.
There are Israelis who believe that the peace with Syria would be a severe blow to Iran’s present stance. They argue that a Syrian government with friendly relations with Israel would not allow any Palestinian group to operate from Syrian territories and thus would persuade the Palestinians to return to reason. Israeli peace activists also believe that a friendly Syria would pave the way for a comprehensive peace in the region.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz believes that Assad’s concern for peace is genuine and he is willing to hold talks with Israel. It is only the unreasonable conditions laid down by the Israeli premier that drive the Syrian president to look for military options. Another Israeli newspaper, the Maariv, however, speaks of an increasing possibility of a war with Syria. A news analyst, Amir Raba Bort, ruled out the possibility of war as both the Syrians and Israelis, according to him, wanted to avoid a military confrontation at this time.
A Syrian-Israeli peace means Israel’s total pullout from the Golan Heights and it could be done only by a strong Israeli government. If it happens it would be in the interest of Israel and bring the simmering Palestinian issue close to a settlement.
Peace with Syria is also very crucial as Israel, which devastated Lebanon with the aim of sending a strong signal to Syria and other Arab countries, is now convinced that military might along would not help solve the issues confronting the region. On the contrary, its overreaction in South Lebanon has taught Israel a bitter lesson. Obviously, Israel stopped the hostilities not because it respected the UN call for immediate cease-fire but because of the heavy losses it had suffered.
Going by present indications, Olmert aims not only to keep the Golan Heights but also take the first step toward drawing the contours of a new Middle East envisioned by the US, which could never be different from the plight of a disintegrating Iraq.
The international community cannot be hoped to intervene if Israel starts an offensive against Syria with US support, as happened in Lebanon. The US would, undoubtedly, support an Israeli war against Syria, as it believes that Syria is a rogue country that promotes international terrorism.
