The news just broke out on the radio. It’s official now – Syria and Israel have been negotiating for three days now. The negotiations are facilitated by Turkey, bless them. I am pretty excited about this!
I’ve been saying for a couple of years now that peace with Syria, is IMO, the key to peace in the region. I know not everyone agrees with my assessment, and it’s not very popular in Israel, but I do believe that a peace agreement with Syria will send a very clear message to the extremists whose expressed goal is still the destruction of the State of Israel. At this point, I do believe that definition includes both Hezbulla and the Hamas, both of which are currently supported and aided by Syria. What can be better than a message of peace from Damascus to weaken the extremists and encourage the pro-peace forces?
Obviously, it’s way too early to say much. Withdrawing from the Golan Heights is going to be very very painful to many Israelis. Unlike Gaza, where the settlers were considered by many as fringe people (not to say lunatics), the settlers of the Golan are generally considered to be “sane” Israel. That means it may be easier to evacuate them, if needs be (at least most of them), but it also means more of an initial resistance to the entire move, as the Golan Heights is a place Israelis are used to visit, tour, and live in.
Some questions on my mind at this point -
1. Is this for real? A question voiced on the radio right now. Is Olmert going for some media spin, to keep the press off his back (with the various recent scandals)? Or is this a real effort in the direction of peace? I bet there’s a bunch of Syrian officials trying to figure out the answer to that as well right now.
2. What about Lebanon? I know that for many Lebanese, of various factions, peace between Syria and Israeli is conceived as a direct threat. I have heard from Lebanese (and in fact from the only Syrian I’ve ever had contact with as well), that peace between Israel and Syria will include the division of Lebanon into two parts, where the south of Lebanon will be annexed to Israel, and the rest goes to Syria. To any Israeli, this would sound like utter craziness, too weird and unworthy of discussion, but I think it’s worth mentioning, because I know it weighs on the minds of many Lebanese people.
3. More about Lebanon – will an agreement include guarantees that Syria will stop funding and/or facilitating arms transports from Iran through its territory to HA? IMO, it’s the single most important requirement that needs to be made of Syria.
4. The Palestinians – how do we incorporate them into this? Can we enlist the pro-peace groups to support an Israeli-Syrian peace initiative, or will Palestinians feel too threatened by it? Will they feel their own cause will be neglected and forgotten once Israel has peace with almost all of its Arab neighbors?
Obviously, way too early to tell much about anything, I guess. Just thoughts on my mind at this point.
