Subscribe to Print Edition | Thu., December 25, 2008 Kislev 28, 5769 | | Israel Time: 01:15 (EST+7)   Back to Homepage web haaretz.com Haaretz Toolbar Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Car Rental Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate Joy of Giving Travel Week's End Anglo File

Arbitration now By Aluf Benn Tags: Syria, Ehud Olmert  The result of all the discussions, contacts, messages and gossip between Israel and Syria until now has been, and remains, naught. Six Israeli prime ministers have come and gone since the 1991 Madrid Conference that opened the Syrian channel for the first time. Both concessionists - Yitzhak Rabin, Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert - and refuseniks - Yitzhak Shamir, Benjamin Netanyahu and Ariel Sharon - eventually reached the same dead-end. Despite having held talks on withdrawing from the Golan, Netanyahu remains a refusenik because his negotiations with Hafez Assad were secret, exposed only after he had left office. Israel still controls the Golan Heights, and both sides conscientiously adhere to the separation of forces agreement reached in 1974, even while fighting each other on other fronts. When reports of the current bilateral talks are emptied of spin, nudges and Janus-faced pronouncements, what emerges is that very same dead-end. Israel refuses to withdraw from the Kinneret shore, and Syria refuses a public meeting between the two countries' leaders. Each side hints that if the other would just come nearer to it, a peace deal would be in the pocket, but both Israelis and Syria recoil at the thought of being the one to take the first step. Advertisement Leaders in both Jerusalem and Damascus prefer to continue the state of war to giving the appearance of making compromises that hurt national honor. Each side fears that if it concedes anything, the other will cheat it. Even leaders who preached about reaching a deal with Syria as an Israeli interest, like Olmert does now, were not able to free themselves of that psychological trap. From Israel's perspective, the stubborn hold on the narrow strip along the Kinneret shore is due to symbolic, rather than security reasons, as it is impossible to protect an area a few dozen to a hundred meters wide by force. Still, Israel claims Syria is trying to make permanent its hold on an area never under its sovereignty, which it took control of before the 1967 Six-Day War. Israel sees only the 1923 international border between British and French mandates, then ruling in Palestine and Syria respectively, as binding. According to the Israeli approach, Syria has no right to territories it conquered west of the international border, and certainly not the northeast shore of the Kinneret, which should fall under Israeli sovereignty. Syrian jurists raise the opposite argument, basing their opinions on UN decisions that have served as the basis for the peace process and do not refer to historical borders, but only to the prevailing status before the Six-Day War. Return what you have taken, say the Syrians. Who is right? Which precedent is more binding: an international border recognized between powers of the past, or a Security Council resolution? The path out of this cul-de-sac leads to international arbitration to decide where exactly the border should lie. Until now, each side has dug into its trenches, and the option of referring the issue to a third party has not been seriously considered. Because of the political price involved in compromises, it is difficult to believe either side will succeed in convincing the other. Now is the time to consider a new path. Instead of wasting time in futile polemics with Damascus, Israel can recommend arbitration. The talks would last a few years, during which progress on other matters involved in a peace deal could be made and Syrian credibility tested. Israel would then be portrayed as a country respecting international rule of law and win valuable public relations points. Syria's refusal based on the "holding our ground" rationale would present its president, Bashar Assad, as a refusenik of peace and Israel as righteous among the nations. International arbitration has a successful precedent in the Israel-Egypt peace process, in which the two sides transferred the issue of Taba to review. Unlike the usual outcome today, the matter was resolved in Israel's favor. In return for giving up the small town on the Gulf of Aqaba, which was never Israel's, it received territories in the central Negev and changes to the maritime border near Eilat. And disputes over the exact border route did not disrupt the deal being signed or carried out. After 17 years of exploratory talks, the time has come to take a different approach to the Syria track and look for an exit from the territorial dispute. The chances for success are dependent on the political will of both sides to reach an agreement. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Knesset express Rightist party offers Jonathan Pollard top spot on Knesset list. Mahmoud's Gospel Ahmadinejad: If Jesus were alive, he would stand in opposition to U.S.   1.   Israel`s position seems to be that... 10:12  |  Esther 24/12/08   2.   Arbitration 11:44  |  JIm 24/12/08   3.   i am amazed at the speed with which isreal 12:34  |  judah 24/12/08   4.   the golan is quiet because it is so close to damascus 12:36  |  yaheskel 24/12/08   5.   Plenty to be afraid of on our part, Assad`s a lying snake 14:35  |  Harvey 24/12/08   6.   One major problem 15:40  |  Mark Lincoln 24/12/08   7.   Syria Must Annouce to World That Golan Is Israel 17:43  |  Baruch Gold 24/12/08   8.   Not one rocket fired into Israel from Golan since 1967. 19:51  |  Avi 24/12/08   9.   Once again we see the consistent inability 20:18  |  Mark Lincoln 24/12/08

Read & React Hamas: Thousands more Israelis will soon be within the range of our rockets Responses: 228 U.S. tells Israel: Don't forsake Lebanon for peace with Syria Responses: 66 Barak Ravid: International efforts against Iran are failing Responses: 38 Ahmadinejad invited to 'counter' Queen Elizabeth II's Christmas message Responses: 43 Eyal Benvenisti: The myth of the Palestinian right of return Responses: 99 More Headlines 22:20 IAF kills Hamas gunman in strike on Gaza rocket launchers 23:09 Livni: The equation in Gaza can change, and will change 21:56 Patients get other people's lab results in mass hospital mix-up 17:28 Ahmadinejad invited to 'counter' Queen Elizabeth II's Christmas message 00:53 Jewish parents thwart enrollment of Arab girl in daycare 09:29 N.Y. investor kills himself after losing over $1 billion in alleged Madoff scam 23:42 Peres in Sderot: In Gaza they're lighting rockets, here we're lighting candles 17:17 Cabinet holds urgent session on responding to rocket fire 21:38 Australian arrested in Egypt for trying to smuggle animal mummies 19:08 Security cabinet proscribes 35 global terrorist groups linked to al-Qaida 19:37 Jewish DJ Adam Goldstein files lawsuit in South Carolina plane crash 15:03 Netanyahu pledges to topple Hamas if elected prime minister 13:49 U.S. Technion funder loses $72 million in alleged Madoff fraud Previous Editions Select Day 24 dec 23 dec 22 dec 21 dec 19 dec 18 dec 17 dec 16 dec 15 dec 14 dec 12 dec 11 dec

Special Offers Advertisement Summer in Israel Israeli style - Tzofim Chetz V'Keshet 2009 SURF RAMBAM Keep current about new-wave medical care, education and research. Summer Camp in Israel The best place for your children this summer Academic Studies in Israel All the Q & A at the IDC HERZLIYA Open House, January 9,2009 Fattal Hotel Chain Perfectly located hotels on best resorts of Israel. Car rental in Israel Shlomo Sixt Receive $15.00 from our low rates. Eldan Rent a Car Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on all online reservations Jewish Singles Personal Ads Find the love of your life on JDate.com Hebrew Summer courses From $39.95 Junkyard Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt

Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Underground | Site rules |

Real Estate in Israel | Travel to Israel with Haaretz | Hotels Israel | Restaurants Israel | Tourist attractions Israel | Shops Israel

birthright Israel | Search engine marketing

Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.

© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved