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Olmert Says He Wants to Renew Peace Talks with Syria
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=157EE1D:A6F02AD83191E160B84C950229FFCF659574F7DCC14957C0 However Israel
setting down some tough pre-conditions for talks Israel says it would
like to revive negotiations with neighboring Syria. But as Robert
Berger reports from VOA's Jerusalem bureau, Israel is setting down
some tough pre-conditions.







Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (File)Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
says he would like to renew peace talks with Syria, but first there
must be a change of heart in Damascus.

Mr. Olmert said the two countries could arrive at dialogue if Syria
stops its support for Islamic terror groups, including Hamas that
heads the Palestinian Authority and Hezbollah in Lebanon. He also
demanded that Syria sever what he called "its appalling connection
with Iran."

Tension between Israel and Syria increased in July when Israel
launched a 34-day assault on Lebanon, after Hezbollah kidnapped two
Israeli soldiers on the northern border. Israel accused Syria of
supplying weapons to Hezbollah. Since then, Syrian President Bashar
Assad has offered several times to renew peace talks with Israel.

Syria has fallen from grace with Washington and Europe because of its
support for Hezbollah and the insurgency in Iraq.

Israeli analyst Eyal Zisser says Mr. Assad is more interested in
boosting his international standing than in making peace with Israel.
"He gains some points in this game with Israel. I mean, it's not he
who refused to have peace or to have negotiations, it's Olmert. Syria
is under tremendous pressure and it's very good for him to come to
mainly the Europeans, but also some Americans, and tell them, 'Well
listen, I'm ready to make peace. It's Israel who is not interested
(in) that,'" he said.

Peace talks between Israel and Syria broke down in 2000 because Israel
was reluctant to relinquish the strategic Golan Heights captured
during the Six Day War in 1967. And today, Israel is still in no hurry
to hand over the Golan to a regime it does not trust.


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