Netanyahu: Syria drops key precondition for peace talks with Israel

It give Syria a vantage point from which to launch further attacks History repeats itself, what Syria did in 1948, she did again in 1967 & 1973, and simply drooling for another chance

It defangs Hamas and puts Hezbollah on the "nice" list. It is progress toward peace.

nothing has changed from before except perhaps to satisfy israel's condition of no preconditions. in order to achieve the type of peace he is insistent upon, certain criteria have to be met in order for "syrians", not just his government, to be open to it. assad is NOT interested in a nominal peace between governments, like israel has with egypt; he wants a comprehensive peace that includes economic, cultural, and educational exchange, and he's said so on several occasions. in order for the syrian on the street to be incorporated into any peaceful association with israel/israelis, their negative views of israel must be changed, and the most effective way of doing so is to remove the causes of those perceptions... ie, israel's occupations and it's oppression of the palestinians. this is also the basis, AND the reasoning, behind the conditions set forth by the arab peace initiative... and while assad is if course pursuing the criteria of most importance to syrians in an individual "syrian" peace initiative; he has also, on different occasions, urged lebanon, hezbollah, and even hamas, to pursue peace negotiations with israel. assad's trying not to make it too obvious to the iranians, but he's after closer ties to the west, including israel, and in particular the united states. but until he's established those ties, with certain guarantees, he cannot afford to incur the wrath of the iranian regime.

nothing has changed from before except perhaps to satisfy israel's condition of no preconditions. in order to achieve the type of peace he is insistent upon, certain criteria have to be met in order for "syrians", not just his government, to be open to it. assad is NOT interested in a nominal peace between governments, like israel has with egypt; he wants a comprehensive peace that includes economic, cultural, and educational exchange, and he's said so on several occasions. in order for the syrian on the street to be incorporated into any peaceful association with israel/israelis, their negative views of israel must be changed, and the most effective way of doing so is to remove the causes of those perceptions... ie, israel's occupations and it's oppression of the palestinians. this is also the basis, AND the reasoning, behind the conditions set forth by the arab peace initiative... and while assad is if course pursuing the criteria of most importance to syrians in an individual "syrian" peace initiative; he has also, on different occasions, urged lebanon, hezbollah, and even hamas, to pursue peace negotiations with israel. assad's trying not to make it too obvious to the iranians, but he's after closer ties to the west, including israel, and in particular the united states. but until he's established those ties, with certain guarantees, he cannot afford to incur the wrath of the iranian regime.

if Syria compensates the Israeli victim families who lost members killed by Syria. Syria started the war, Israel defended itself.

when Syria did have the Golan, which she utilized to launch wars against Israel

Syria will arrange to make Turkey (the mediator) declare publicly ; Israel is wrong and don't want peace ... Another Arab propaganda to shame Israel !

think about it, syria wants the golans back, the syrian golanese want to be part of syria one again, people are screaming for the golans back, how do you do this? show the world how one lies, the syrians are very patient and for a good reason.

incase you haven't noticed lately, there is a game being played here by israel, now syria is playing the same game, the syrians finally figured this all out for once.

...For a full peace agreement? We all ?know? what Israel has to surrender, namely the Golan Heights either in 67? or 48? form. But what is Syria willing to give in return? Is it stilling going to have close ties with and host governments and entities that continue to declare open military hostility to Israel? If it continues to do so I do not think that can be called peace in any form. What will happen to the Golan? Will it turn into a Syrian front line and a potential future flashpoint, or will it be a DMZ zone with a limited population? And what of Lebanon? Will peace with Syria mean a peace agreement with their government? If those are not the basic conditions for an agreement, I cannot believe that the Syrians are being serious.

#1 Why would Syria drop a pre-condition if it did not want to negotiate peace. ------------- What will Israel's next excuse be?

It disarms Hamas and put Hezbollah in a more flexible frame of mind if you read his "Army" comments. The end result, who knows?

Let the horse trading begin, it will not be easy,however this is the right thing to do as it will solve a lot of problems in the M.E. Lebanon will be the last to sign, if Syria signs Lebanon has no choice but to follow. The hizbullah issue will be part of the peace treaty. The trip from Beirut to Telaviv will take an hour and a half. I know it is wishful thinking, but it is probable.

I am glad to hear this news and am much encouraged that progress towards comprehensive peace in the ME can be achieved. President Assad can either be remembered for joining Iran against the world or for joining the world community like Sadat and Hussein. I hope he chooses the later.

Syria needs peace with Israel because of internal reasons obviously. Israel should do good and move to achieve a good peace agreement. The USA will always oppose such an agreement because they will have less saying and less possibilities to blackmail Israel. A peace with Syria is in the interest of Israel too (maybe not of the Palestinian).

'... Israel has to choose: Either the Golan or peace. They cannot have both.' Axel, the Syrians are no longer demanding an Israeli commitment to withdraw from the Golan Heights as a precondition for resuming peace negotiations. If recovering the Golan was all-important to Mr Assad, the precondition would never have been dropped. Choices - especially in negociations - are not always 'either/or'. Negociations may award all, part, or none of the Golan to Syria. Negociations may result in a phased Israeli withdrawal, as 'confidence-building' measure between the two parties show results. My point is, it is unhelpful for either of the parties - or their supporters - to adopt rigid preconditions or expectations before sitting down to discuss matters. Messrs Begin and Sadat understood this. Mr Assad seemingly now understands this. Do you understand this? MV

Israel can choose between retaining the Golan Heights and Syrian hostility or surrendering the Golan Heights and Syrian hostility.Better that Israel keeps the Golan Height so that it can defend itself. Perhaps Axel would care to apply his magnificent mind and explain to us why peace-loving Syria went to war with Israel in 1948 and 1967.The Golan Heights weren't an issue then. THREE CHEERS FOR ISRAEL!!!

If Syria is moving towards recognizing that its present border with Israel will be permanent that is good news. The next step is to negotiate directly with Israel.

What is Syria's interest in dropping a key minimum demand before hand? Israel will be unable to achieve peace will all arab countries if Peace with Syria has not been achieved.

If Syria is sincere in its move for Peace, it could only be a boon. As Peace with Egypt and Jordan have held well, in the main, over the years, friendship with another could only be a positive move against the other serious enemies we have around.

whether it's a precondition for talks or a prerequisite for a peace treaty. Anyway Israel has to choose: Either the Golan or peace. They cannot have both.

What's the use of preconditions, it's perfectly obvious if Israel wants peace they will have to leave the Golan.Israel can offer Syria the stars and the moon if they were capable of delivering such, but Syria will onle accept the Golan back for peace. Personally I don't trust the syrians to keep the peace once they're back on the Golan.

Israel's needs and Sarkozy's ambitions are easy to satisfy. Israel gets to keep the Golan Heights and France gets the rest of pre-Six Day War Syria.That should ensure peace. THREE CHEERS FOR ISRAEL!!!

this is a good start... if true... Just like everything in life for it to work and last it requires a strong foundation... "but they do not want direct negotiations" Direct talks will need to transpire for there to be any lasting peace...