Report: EU to sign partnership deal with Syria

Paranoia, Ben, is driving Israel to further heights of reckless action. Give up the seige of Gaza, give up the illegal settlements, give up the human rights abuses and the apartheid practices. Then and only then will Israel be accepted into the family of democracies. Israel, with all it's actions I mentioned, has squandered the considerable good will that was afforded to it as a fledgling democracy. Now most countries won't want to be seen supporting such a regime. Your own fault.

Military supplies (as in: gunshells) were sent from the Netherlands in '73. After that, the Arab nations refused to send us oil. Rightly so, me thinks.

is also not in line with the European Union's policy on the subject of human rights.

...Israel's actions, 300.000 colonists, has eclipsed its voice of denial. The jig is up. The Fat Lady has sung. Israel's goose, as a result of the Goldstone Report, is cooked. The sowing is long done. The reaping is a comin'.

"A senior Israeli source later voiced displeasure with the report, saying: "Israel does not like this, and we have sent messages opposing it to the Europeans." - Haarets The noose, placed around Israel by it's dominant right, is tightening.' The Israeli right is systematically divorcing Israel from the civilized world at the same time the world is becoming tired of being a scape goat for the Israeli right. The theory is simple, attack, annoy and lie about every other nation. Accuse them of hating Israel and supporting anti-Semitism. Do anything you want and when anyone protests, smear them. This attitude plays well the the right-wing extremists which dominate Israeli society. Who cares what the ultimate consequences are? Israel believes it can order the world around, lie about the rest of the world, smear the rest of the world, treat it with total contempt and has somehow convinced itself that the world does not matter. This is not a sane foreign policy.

Do you think Israel is stupid??? Arabs wants peace, make peace. No land for peace.

"The Israeli claim was that even if this deal is far from what Israel has with the European Union, this step is not in line with the European Union's policy on the subject of human rights," Lebanon 2006 Cast Lead Bilin East Jerusalem Seige of Gaza Bombing of Gaga Detention of Palestinian polititians Torture of prisoners Denial of medical treatment (Gazans) Disruption of electricity and food You are right. The EU should keep with their policy on dealing with countries based on Human Rights. Israel, you may be feeling the effect of that policy. Look in the mirror.

So why does Israel seem so upset about the freezing of this upgrade ? Only because they will lose a huge and lucrative market.It has started already and doesn't look good for Israel's future. As for "hypocrisy" take the beam out of your own eye first before you criticise anyone else

After Cast Lead fiasco in Gaza. The various governments of EU countries and the EU institutions were inundated with calls to sever ties with Israel. The upgrade was placed on hold but full severance and sanctions will take place in the future if Israel doesn't stop with it's illegal settlements and get on the peace train !!!

Whether we agree or not on just who is the bad guy and who isn't, let's fact it. Israel has been seen as the aggressor and the occupier for the last few decades. These are the consequences. Either it must change that perception by real actions, or stop whining and count it as the price of doing business as usual. Anything else is chutzpah.

The problem with Israel is that they are too concerned with what someone at the EU or UN will think of them. The lesson of Yom Kippur war is forgotten in Israel. That lesson is that No Country in the World wanted to help Israel either directly or indirectly by allowing US planes to refuell while resuppling Israel!

birds of a feather flock together. Europe is a world leader in Hypocrisy , double standards like Syria is.

Better ISrael not make peace with Syria, and watch Syria self destruct because of the tytrant that rules. Average Syrian is tired of buying bombs and bulklets instead of bread and butter. Soon Assad will be taken out by the average syrian whoi cant feed his family.

Why did the upgrade not take place? Did Israel stop the talks or did the EU?

there is no alternative to Assad, if we do not wish AlQaida to take over Syria. Which almost happened in 1982.

US/EU willing to move forward without Israeli counsel. Sign of the times?

Israel and the EU because the governments of the EU realised that after cast Lead it would have been impossible to sell it to their electorates. As for improving ties with Syria, this is in the interests of the EU. As Syria will need modernising as a result of the sanctions that were placed on it. Libya was never going to be the only country in the Middle East which the Western Democracies normalised ties with. I suppose Syria's geographical position in running an oil and gas pipeline between Iran, Iraq, the Caspian Sea bypassing Russia will have something to do with this decision.

"The Israeli claim was that even if this deal is far from what Israel has with the European Union, this step is not in line with the European Union's policy on the subject of human rights," the source added. Has it not dawned on these people yet that the reason for the freeze in Eu/Israeli agreements is because of Israel's appalling human rights record ? Just how unaware and hypocritical can a nation be ? Laughable if it wasn't so sad

Syria is a very unfree society where a dictatorial minority dynasty needs about 7 different (secret) police and intelligence services, just to control and oppress their own population. In dictatorial ruled countries civil and democratic liberties and institutions often blossom up in times of economic developement while cruel oppression and state terror often go hand in hand with economic hard times, as those regimes recognize the danger of that for them. Hence partnership with Syria. Israel of course is a totally different case. Here are democratic elected rulers violating human rights of another people outside the own country. In such a case upgrading of economic ties would make the purpetrator feel he can get away with violating human rights like that and thus can repeat it whenever he wants. Hence no upgrading of ties with Israel. In the end, human rights win.

While I don't approve of human rights abuses, amongst other horrible things that Syria has and still does; at this point in time, is there really any nation on the face of this earth that can criticize another for having double standards without being a hypocrite? Hopefully this progress will lead to further progress - it is better than simply refusing to talk to someone and letting the problems continue (aside from attempts to pressure from the outside, which is an indirect - slower - process).

How about Syrian human rights record, dear EU? Where is the Swedish chairman who is so worried about the Hamas human rights?

...Israel is going to be dragged kicking and screaming but it will make peace or the rest of the world will make the peace for them. Enough is enough. What you have tried to do to Richard Goldstone has instead done Israel in. You reap what you sow and Israel fully deserves the wrath of the world for thumbing its nose at international law for so long.

You put out this press release? And is this real or a joke? Make peace with Syria...give back the golan heights...become a modern country...

there is no alternative to the Assad regime, opression is necessary (Homa 1982) in order to prevent AlQuaida from a takeover of Syria. Such an unrest or revolution would NOT be in the Israeli interest.

The pressure on Israel is building to make a peace deal with the PA and it seems to get stronger every day. The gap is too wide between Israel and PA right now, with Israel seeing Apartheid as a better option than peace deal. As long as the UN is blocked by US there will not be a peace deal, talks maybe but no deal. Right now Israel has most of what is wants, it loses in a peace deal, so with out a greater lost why deal.

'A senior Israeli source later voiced displeasure with the report, saying: "Israel does not like this, and we have sent messages opposing it to the Europeans."' Pompous idiot! Who cares?

opposing it". Big deal. It is far more important to get Syria into the community of nations and moderate its covert support for the madmen in Iraq than act as Israel's eternally apologetic wingman. Israel seems to have no problems attacking and smearing Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Britain, France, Spain, Italy, Austria etc. with claims of antisemitism, jew-hating every 5 minutes. The classic was today's "Sweden has problems with its writing comprehension" from Lieberman - when the current EU President is Swedish! Delightful tact from the FM. Sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. If Israel wants to play in the big boys league, it needs to learn to take its knocks. I'd think these are only just starting in earnest as the rest of the world finally loses patience with Israeli truculence.

The EU forgets that Syria is behind the murder of Hariri and actively supports terror organisations as well as undermines Iraq. Interesting that since the Gaza op the EU decided to punish Israel and consider the Arabs as the poor innocent victims. Is this anti Semitism? I am not sure but it smells like it.

All, Europe may recompense Israel by going forward with the EU-Israel upgrade, especially if peace talks begin. The EU gives up its argument that it cares about human rights or war crimes (after all, Hamas was accused of war crimes by Goldstone and is a client of Syria and Assad is a brutal dictator). I suspect the upgrade will go forward after Sweden's 6 month EU Presidency is over.

"Israel does not like this, and we have sent messages opposing it to the Europeans." Too bad for you, the world is moving on, and protests from the sidelines will not be heeded. Of course you are invited to show your displeasure by letting your clown FM make some antisemitism accusations against Europe ...

Israel has no room to talk.