A Syrian American who drafted an informal proposal for peace with Israel visited Jerusalem. Ibrahim “Abe” Suleiman addressed the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Thursday along with Alon Liel, a retired Israeli diplomat with whom he spent two years in back-channel talks on a blueprint for rapprochement. Suleiman, 69, has been disavowed by Damascus but spoke authoritatively about Syrian President Bashar Assad’s recent peace overtures.
“I ask the Israeli government — I challenge the Israeli government — to answer President Bashar Assad’s call for peace. I believe peace can be reached within six months if the parties are willing. I don’t believe there are any more things to negotiate about,” Suleiman told reporters, referring to Syria’s bedrock demand for a return of the Golan Heights.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who in the past dismissed Suleiman as an “oddball” and described the peace proposal as completely unauthorized, had no immediate comment on the visit.
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