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Surely they will be long and tough. But the Syrian-Israeli talks in Turkey could usher in a new era in the Middle East, if and only if Israel's intentions are genuine. Eight years ago the two sides launched similar talks, sponsored by then US president Bill Clinton. But they failed when Tel Aviv insisted on less than full withdrawal from the occupied Golan Heights. Israel also insisted on having an early warning system installed on the Syrian side of the border, which would also have no Syrian military presence. Naturally, Damascus refused. The late president Hafez Al Assad met in Geneva with Clinton in a last minute attempt to salvage the talks. But the Israelis insisted that it would hold on to an enclave of Syrian territory on the shores of Lake Tabaria that it occupied in 1967.
Syria maintains that it will only make peace as per UN resolution 242 and the principle of the Arab-Israeli 1991 peace conference - the land for peace. Both declarations call for full Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Arab lands in Palestine, Syria and Lebanon. The late Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin had agreed to this before his assassination in 1995.
If Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is genuinely interested in peace, he then knows what it takes for it. But according to Israeli analysts, it seems that the beleaguered premier is merely diverting the people's attention from his corruption cases to the start of talks with Syria. However, his sudden announcement of the talks can backfire. Giving false hopes usually leads to despair which in turns leads to violence.
Although Syria said it would in good faith negotiate in accordance with UN resolutions and Arab peace initiatives, Olmert is setting terms. He demands that Syria cut off its relations with Palestinian and Lebanese resistance movements. This is not a good start. The Israeli analysts could well be right. And Olmert is just playing games, dangerous games though.
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