Subscribe to Print Edition | Thu., April 09, 2009 Nisan 15, 5769 | | Israel Time: 14:07 (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

Last update - 01:30 01/04/2009 Withdrawal and change in the Golan By Amir Oren On a day as full of mixed feelings as this one - joy that Ehud Olmert is leaving, mixed with sorrow over Benjamin Netanyahu's return - it's worth relaxing on a short trip to the scenic Golan Heights. It's pretty there now, from Jordan Park to Odem Forest, which lies between the Israel Defense Forces division headquarters in Nafah and the Druze village of Masadeh, with heartwarming views of streams and blooming flowers. It's a good time for tourism, and to judge by the signals from Washington, for diplomacy as well. Frederic Hof, the CEO of Virginia-based international consulting firm AALC, has just released a report that builds on two of his previous works dealing with the obstacles to Israeli-Syrian peace and potential ways around them. The Hof plan gives Syria land and regulated access to water, and gives Israel water and regulated access to land. Hof, who is close to former senator George Mitchell, the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, is being vetted for an appointment as his deputy. The plan was issued by the United States Institute of Peace, which was established by the U.S. Congress and whose board of directors includes Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Advertisement The idea behind the plan, which is based partly on detailed discussions with Israelis, has evolved from establishing a nature reserve to setting up a peace park to creating a Jordan Valley-Golan Heights Environmental Preserve, under Syrian sovereignty. One of its premises is that Syria's "'bottom line' for peace with Israel" is the return of all the land conquered in June 1967, which includes not just the Golan, but also small tracts of land in the Jordan Valley - "acreage that adjoins bodies of water vitally important to Israel's economy and of marginal use to Syria," as the report puts it. Hof also assumes that Israel's bottom line is security-oriented: the demilitarization of land returned to Syria, international monitoring led by the United States and "the strategic reorientation of Damascus away from Iran, Hezbollah, and certain Palestinian organizations, most notably Hamas." Syria cannot pursue peace with Israel while keeping one foot in the camp of those who seek Israel's destruction. If a peace accord is signed that deals with the key issues of borders, water, normalization and what the Hof plan calls the "frontier security regime," the implementation process, which is expected to take several years, could offer the opportunity for bilateral cooperation. Under the plan, the evacuated land would become an environmental preserve controlled by Syria; the preserve would include some two dozen parks and reserves that have already been established by Israel, from the Susita reserve in the south to the Hermon reserve in the north. The preserve would protect the water sources in the area, and Israelis would be allowed access to the northeastern part of Lake Kinneret and the parts of the Golan included in the preserve. One possibility is that, while signs proclaiming "Welcome to Syria" could be placed between Ein Gev and Kursi and at the eastern end of the Arik Bridge, Israelis could be made exempt from visa requirements and admission fees to get into the preserve, which they would be able to visit for one day at a time, during daylight hours only. Such a preserve could include the existing Yehudiya and Gamla nature reserves (a change from the original proposal). In exchange, Syrian citizens would enjoy similar conditions at the Kinneret. Mitchell's steps are coordinated with Clinton's office, particularly with Jeffrey Feltman, who heads the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs and previously served as consul general to Jerusalem and ambassador to Lebanon. Feltman knows that Washington's ties with Damascus are a cause of concern in Beirut. That's why he made an effort to reach out to the Lebanese last week, saying at a congressional hearing that the U.S. would not abandon Lebanon (and, unlike the British, would not distinguish between the "political" and "military" wings of the Hezbollah terror group). Hof, for his part, assumes that Israel will not complete its gradual withdrawal from the Golan if Syria continues to arm Hezbollah while the pullout is being implemented. He believes the Obama administration's challenge will be to "determine whether a different American approach to Syria can encourage Damascus to consider a strategic orientation different from the one it has pursued for many years." Henry Kissinger used strikingly similar language in 1975, as U.S. secretary of state. When Israel refused to withdraw from the Mitla and Gidi passes in the Sinai as part of an interim agreement with Israel, Kissinger said Israel didn't understand that the issue was not a kilometer one way or the other, but a change in orientation. As with Israel and Egypt then, so it is with Israel and Syria now. It would be interesting to know whether the subject was on the agenda of a meeting scheduled to take place in New York two weeks ago between Kissinger and Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi. The meeting was ultimately canceled, but Ashkenazi frequently talks with U.S. senators and other American officials about the need to remove Syria from the circle of countries hostile to Israel. The cost of such a removal is abundantly clear. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Fighter for peace Gaza doctor whose three daughters were killed during Gaza op gets Nobel nomination. Determined diplomacy Obama: U.S. 'strongly supports' two-state solution, vows to continue peace process.   1.   Insanity - Withdrawal from Golan 17:40  |  David Shapira 01/04/09   2.   Stop the occupation 18:33  |  Stephan 01/04/09   3.   Stephan there is NO occupation 20:06  |  dsharon 01/04/09   4.   U.N. resolutions? To Stephan and others like you 00:47  |  Adam 02/04/09   5.   TRUE PEACE 21:07  |  B 02/04/09   6.   TRUE PEACE OR PAPER PEACE 21:22  |  Bill 02/04/09   7.   to dsharon #3 03:02  |  zeev 03/04/09   8.   Never leave the GH 13:15  |  Jean-Paul 09/04/09

Read & React Obama team readying for clash with Netanyahu Responses: 333 U.S. reiterates commitment to two-state solution after Lieberman remarks Responses: 104 Biden: Israel would be 'ill-advised' to attack Iran Responses: 88 At least 16 hurt in clash between Bat Ayin settlers, Palestinians Responses: 71 More Headlines 13:52 'Iran behind Hezbollah bid to strike Egypt targets' 13:56 Iran to study nuclear talks offer from U.S., other powers 09:07 Obama invites friends, aides to White House Passover seder 12:43 Britain's anti-terror chief resigns over arrests blunder 07:33 Syria says willing to renew peace talks with Israel 08:39 Shalit friends hold protest seder outside Netanyahu home 11:13 WATCH: Daily news round-up from Israel 09:10 Rescue workers identify body of Israeli missing in Italy quake 10:46 Alternative Haggadah / A Holocaust-era version of the Four Sons 22:12 Palestinian lightly wounded after trying to snatch IDF soldier's gun 09:25 Russian-Jewish billionaire holds massive Passover seder in Eilat 07:08 Black, Jewish and proud - a synagogue gains acceptance Previous Editions Select Day 08 apr 07 apr 06 apr 05 apr 03 apr 02 apr 01 apr 31 mar 30 mar 29 mar 27 mar 26 mar

Special Offers Advertisement Spring Specials-Dan Hotels Jerusalem from 179$. Tel-Aviv from 223$. Herzliya from 336$ Dead Sea Skin Care Quality cosmetics from the Dead Sea. Coupon code HAARETZ for 12% off! Camp Kimama Israel 2009 The best place for your children this summer Eldan Rent a Car Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on online reservations Jewish Singles Personal Ads Find the love of your life on JDate.com Junkyard Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt

Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | | Israel 2009 election results

Site rules | Makom: Engaging on 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