Green Energy
In Sunday's Times of London, Uzi Mahnaimi reports that eventually resigning Israeli Prime Minister Ehud K. Olmert is indeed racing to conclude a 'peace deal' with the Assad regime in Syria. Under the deal's terms, Israel would cede the Golan Heights, and Assad would agree to 'loosen' ties with Iran and not to abide by his mutual defense pact with Tehran in the event that Israel and/or the US decide to attack Iran's nuclear facilities. In fact, Mahnaimi is claiming that Assad is putting Ahmadinejad on notice of the new relations during their Saturday meeting in Tehran.
According to Mahnaimi, Syria has also agreed to close Hamas' Damascus offices and Israel and the US have agreed to take Syria off the terror list and to put it on the US foreign aid list.
There are two problems with this scenario. One is that Israel would be crazy to trust Assad. The second one is that Israel would be crazy to trust Olmert. As Mahnaimi himself points out:
Read the whole thing.
Cross-posted to Israel Matzav.
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Green Energy
Olmert racing to conclude deal with Syria?
In Sunday's Times of London, Uzi Mahnaimi reports that eventually resigning Israeli Prime Minister Ehud K. Olmert is indeed racing to conclude a 'peace deal' with the Assad regime in Syria. Under the deal's terms, Israel would cede the Golan Heights, and Assad would agree to 'loosen' ties with Iran and not to abide by his mutual defense pact with Tehran in the event that Israel and/or the US decide to attack Iran's nuclear facilities. In fact, Mahnaimi is claiming that Assad is putting Ahmadinejad on notice of the new relations during their Saturday meeting in Tehran.According to Mahnaimi, Syria has also agreed to close Hamas' Damascus offices and Israel and the US have agreed to take Syria off the terror list and to put it on the US foreign aid list.
There are two problems with this scenario. One is that Israel would be crazy to trust Assad. The second one is that Israel would be crazy to trust Olmert. As Mahnaimi himself points out:
For all Olmert’s efforts it will be almost impossible for him to achieve peace before leaving office. A decision on withdrawal from the Golan Heights, which Israel has occupied since its victory in the six-day war in 1967, would need the approval of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, and possibly a referendum. Recent polls indicate that most Israelis reject a handover, even in return for peace with Syria.I'd go with the polls and the security source on this one. Assad has claimed that Yitzchak Rabin, Ehud Barak and Binyamin Netanyahu offered him the entire Golan. Those claims - even if they were true - are at least deniable because they cannot be proven. If Mahnaimi is right, all Olmert will accomplish is to give Assad a much more solid claim that Israel offered him the entire Golan. By giving Assad that backup, Olmert will prevent any real negotiations from taking place or peace from being concluded for generations to come.
“Anything can happen in the Middle East between now and when Olmert finally steps down,” said a security source.
“It could be an agreement with Syria, but it is rather more likely to be an Israeli attack on Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas or all three.”
Read the whole thing.
Cross-posted to Israel Matzav.
- Report: As Nuclear Deal Closes, Iranian Troops Headed To Israel’s Border
From the London Times: Golan Heights rebels Golan Heights violence Iran nuclear ambitions Iran Nuclear Negotiations Israel Golan Heights Israel Syria Golan Heights Israeli border syria civil war golan heights An IDF patrol. Iranian forces are approaching...
- Syria Threatens To Take Back Golan By Force
Haaretz: Syria threatens to take back Golan by force Syrian officials threatened on Saturday to take back the Golan Heights by force if a peace agreement involving the return of the strategic plateau is not reached with Israel, Army Radio reported. A...
- Bush To Olmert: Why Are You Giving Syria The Golan For Nothing?
From Haaretz: WASHINGTON - U.S. President George Bush believes that Israel is offering Syria the Golan Heights without getting anything in exchange, according to sources briefed on his White House meeting with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert last week. After...
- The Obvious Conclusions From Hizballah War, And India
From Gertz... Mossad: Israeli deterrence diminished, Syria emboldened by war JERUSALEM — Israel's intelligence community has concluded that the military's poor performance in the 2006 war against Lebanon has eroded Israeli deterrence. Officials...
- Olmert Issues Threat To Syrian Leader
As well he should. In the past few days, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has made it clear he believes Syrian leader Bashar Assad is a sponsor of Hamas, and the various terrorist organizations within the Palestinian territories. Syrian leader Bashar...