A second round of indirect Israel-Syria talks mediated by Turkey ended on Monday, or June 16, and both sides agreed to continue their peace talks in weeks ahead. The atmosphere of the two-day meeting held in Turkey was "constructive and positive," said an Israeli representative at the talks. And the two sides decided to hold the third and fourth rounds in several weeks ahead.
What it has differed drastically and widely from the first round of talks held in May, according to Israeli media reports, both sides discussed at the just-ended second round of talks some substantial, concrete contents rather than the relevant procedures only. On the first day of the talks, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's foreign affairs assistant even said optimistically that the Israel-Syria indirect talks could enter into the second phase and positively be shifted to direct talks.
Though no more details of the talks have been disclosed, the engagement of representatives from both sides in frequent direct or indirect talks poses a move of welcome itself, and it is better to talk than not to talk. Only political talks can bring the dawn and hope of peace to Israel and Syria.
The announcement of May 21, coming in identical statements issued apart by Israel, Syria and Turkey, was the first official confirmation that Israel and Syria were holding indirect peace talks via Turkey.
Israel-Syria peace represents an important aspect of the Middle East peace process, whereas the Golan Heights issue is a crucial one that has a direct bearing on process of the talks of both sides.
The boat-shaped Golan Heights is a narrow strip of hill slope land in southwestern Syria and at the juncture of Syria and Israel, and it is only an hour drive to the Syrian capital of Damascus. Situated on a commanding height, the Golan, which looks over Israel, constitutes 1 percent of Syria's surface with a total surface area of 1,860 square kilometers, of which around 1,250 sq km fell under Israeli occupation during the "June 5th" war in 1967 and, in the October war of 1973, the Syrian forces retook some of the territories seized by the Israeli troops.
Syria and Israel reached an agreement on disengagement in May of 1974, and the Israeli forces withdrew from a narrow strip of land ranging from 1.93 km to 5.79 km in width from the eastern part of the Golan Heights as a buffer zone. And the UNDOF mission was established in the same month to supervise the ceasefire and the disengagement agreement between the Israeli and Syrian forces, and maintain the buffer zone. To date, Israelis have built scores of Jewish settlements in their occupied areas.
Israeli and Syrian forces have been locked in a face-off at the Golan Heights over the past four decades or so, but the two nations have held numerous rounds of negotiations. Israel, however, remains unwilling to abandon the Golan Heights, and so these talks have failed time and again.
The Israel-Syria talks involve border and security arrangements, the sharing of water resources, the normalization of bilateral ties, and so forth. With its sovereignty belonging to Syria, the Golan Heights should return to its master. Nevertheless, Israel, only with a tiny and a narrow piece of land, has its own security needs and should be given due proper considerations. So, the cause for an impasse in their talks is definite and clear-cut. Only both sides show their sincerity for peace, will the Golan Heights issue have an eventual fair and reasonable settlement.
At present, Israel still does not interest itself in the fundamental issue on the pullout of its forces from the Golan Heights, and instead it only underscores that it would reach a peace accord with Syria only when the latter halts it support to the Lebanese Hezbollah and the Palestinian Islamic resistance movement (Hamas) and distances itself to Iran. Hence, it seems that it is not easy for the Israel-Syria talks to achieve positive results.
By People's Daily Online and its author is Yue Lushi
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