A change of direction on Assad

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and U.S. President George W. Bush will meet at the White House in Washington on Monday. Their meeting will be a good opportunity for Olmert to announce that he is calling on Syrian President Bashar Assad to begin immediate negotiations for peace with Israel. Since the cease-fire in Lebanon went into effect three months ago, Assad has repeatedly declared his intention to renew peace talks with Israel in order to return the Golan Heights to Syria. His offers were accompanied by threats from Damascus that the Golan would be liberated with violence if a deal is not reached.

Olmert outrightly rejected Assad's calls, and made the following arguments to defend his position: the Golan Heights should remain in Israel's control; Syria will not expel from its territory the Palestinian terrorist headquarters or cease arming Hezbollah, even after it gets back the Golan; talks with Assad will result in international pressure on Israel to hold talks with Hamas; if negotiations fail, and it is fair to assume that they will, the likelihood of war will increase.

Olmert is not alone in this view: a Haaretz-Dialog poll published Friday showed that only 16 percent of the public support talks with Syria. The American administration, which in the past showed great interest in a Syrian-Israeli agreement, is now boycotting Assad.

Accompanying these arguments is the Israel Defense Forces assessment that Syria will begin a war against Israel in the coming summer. Under such circumstances, the supreme obligation of the national leadership is to exhaust the diplomatic options and prevent war, which will have no benefit to Israel. The war will only claim lives and unnecessary destruction on both sides, and at its conclusion, deliberations on "removing the cause for war" and returning the Golan to the Syrians will be resumed.

Since coming to power, Olmert has expressed his hesitation in negotiating with Syria and the Palestinians. But his justifications regarding the Palestinians that "there is no partner" and no responsible government do not apply to Syria. The regime in Damascus is not friendly to Israel, and maintains close ties with some of its bitter enemies, but there is no doubt that it holds power in Syria and maintains with diligence the agreement over the disengagement of forces on the Golan Heights. Despite his strategic alliance with Iran, Assad is not party to calls of Israel's destruction by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but is calling for dialogue and an agreement.

The outright rejection of peace offers from Syria without seeking clarifications and holding an in-depth discussion is irresponsible and an invitation for the next war. The price of an agreement with the Syrians, a withdrawal from the Golan Heights, is known and difficult for Israelis to accept. But Olmert has not even carried out minimal diplomatic clarifications or presentation of Israel's legitimate demands over water arrangements, security and normalization, as was done by the five prime ministers preceding him, who negotiated with Assad's father. The prime minister's upcoming visit to the United States is a good opportunity to change his approach and take the initiative, of course, based on prior coordination with leaders of the American administration.