Israelis Apparently Soften Golan Stance
WASHINGTON — Israel presented Syria with a new paper Wednesday that stated more clearly than ever before its willingness to negotiate on withdrawal from occupied territory in exchange for peace and security.
As the seventh round of Arab-Israeli peace talks opened, chief Israeli negotiator Itamar Rabinovich read to his Syrian counterparts a document that appeared to break fresh ground on the concept of an Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Golan Heights.
In its previous paper, Israel had talked about the “territorial dimension†of its conflict with Syria rather than using the word “withdrawal.†Syria is demanding a full and unconditional Israeli retreat from the Golan. Israel insists that withdrawal is only one aspect of a future peace agreement that would end 45 years of enmity with Syria.
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