Olmert 'in secret offer to return Golan Heights to Syria'
Olmert has apparently sent a secret message to the Syrians via Turkey and Germany:"I would like to hear from you whether, in exchange for an Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights, Syria would be willing to fulfil its part: to gradually dissolve its alliances with Iran, Hizbullah and the Palestinian terror organisations, and to stop financing and encouraging terror."
Israeli offers are always marvels to behold, but this one is especially astounding. Israel are asking the Syrians to desert all it's allies - every single group of people who are in a similar position to themselves - i.e. people who have had land illegally taken by Israel - and the reward that Israel is offering Syria if she agrees to desert all of her allies? She can have back land that Israel seized in 1967 - land that international law has decreed is Syrian - as long as the land remains under lease to Israel for at least twenty five years.
I'm not making this up, that is actually the offer. Desert your every ally and we might give you back what is yours in twenty five years time.
Now, I have no doubt that the Syrians might find some fault in this "generous" Israeli offer, however what will be interesting will be to watch the way pro-Israeli supporters portray this in years to come.
It'll go along the lines of, "We offered the Golan Heights to Syria if they would abandon terrorism but they refused, which is proof that they want to drive us into the sea."
One must remember that all Israeli offers are portrayed as "generous" as Israel refuses to accept that international law applies to herself and the occupied territories. Therefore, even an offer as ludicrous as this one will be portrayed as Israel, once again, seeking a partner for peace amongst a hostile Middle East.
These "generous offers" are almost designed to be refused.
Meanwhile, in Israel, there are claims that Olmert is "selling off" the Golan Heights in a desperate attempt to cling on to power:
National Religious Party Chairman MK Zevulun Orlev said Friday that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is prepared to sell the Golan Heights to keep his job.
Orlev's comments came in response to a report in the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Aharonoth on Friday, whereby Israel has recently sent secret messages to Syria, signaling its willingness to give up the Golan Heights in return for a peace deal that would require Damascus to distance itself from Iran.
"Olmert's willingness to cede the Golan is a desparate survival bid," Orlev told Israel Radio.
Orlev concluded by saying: "The Golan will not be sold like Gush Katif," referring to the settlement bloc evacuated in Israel's pullout from the Gaza Strip in 2005.Now, it goes without saying that if Olmert is making an offer in the hope of clinging to power, then that offer is going to be unnecessarily generous, almost foolhardy in fact.
The truth is almost the opposite. It's a terrible offer that borders on an insult. But the pro-Israeli crowd will take up the cry and the Syrians will be accused of choosing terrorism over peace.
Indeed, the initial Syrian reaction appears to be the obvious one:
A Syrian official said earlier Thursday that Damascus is interested in renewing the peace process with Israel.With offers as generous as Israel's one floating around the table, I wonder where this cynicism comes from?
"Our stance remains as it was. We are ready to renew negotiations for peace, and interested in working for peace," the Syrian official told the French news agency, Agence France-Presse.
With reference to Olmert's call Wednesday for a renewal of direct negotiations with Syria, the Syrian official said: "Syria is following the Israeli announcements very closely."
Nevertheless, he emphasized: "We don't have any high hopes that things will change."
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