Israel is claiming that a firm stand by the Western powers toward Syria would yield an acceptable arrangement in Lebanon. Deputy Premier David Levy told a group of visiting American friends of Israel today that the chances were excellent, if only the West stands firm.
A weak stand, Levy contended, would prove to the Syrians and their Soviet backers that their hard line in Lebanon has paid off.
Syria was the subject of a symposium at Haifa University yesterday. Prof. Gavriel Ben-Dor said that despite the bitter animosity between them, Israel and Syria were both countries that respected mutual agreements. He said that was the case partly because both have common enemies, Iraq and the Palestine Liberation Organization.
According to Ben -Dor, it is unrealistic to expect Israel and Syria to reach a peace agreement similar to the Israeli-Egyptian peace pact signed in 1979. He predicted a continuation of the present situation in Lebanon which is neither war nor peace. Both countries would continue to respect the 1974 separation of forces agreement on the Golan Heights, he said.
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