With Israeli-Syrian peace negotiations at an impasses, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres has raised a storm for remarks he made regarding Syrian demands in the negotiations.
Appearing on Israel Television of Tuesday, Peres said, “As for withdrawal and borders, the Syrians are talking about the June 4, 1967, borders. Successive Israeli governments, from Levi Eshkol through Menachem Begin, have talked of the international border.
The difference between the two borders is that by June 4, 1967, on the eve of the Six-Day War, Syria had extended its control over not only the Golan Heights, but on lands extending to the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee – – an area that belonged to Israel.
Israel Captured the strip of land near the Galilee and the Golan Heights in the Six-Day War, which began on June 5, 1967.
Opposition members reacted sharply to the foreign ministers remarks, saying that his reference to Israel’s willingness to return to the international border revealed the “true face” of the Rabin government’s position in negotiations with Damascus.
Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu, addressing a Likud solidarity rally in the Golan town of Katzrin, said Peres in “begging to give away” all of the Golan.
Syrian President Hafez Assad has not agreed, Netanyahu said, because he wants parts of the Galiee as well.
A source close to Peres later said that the taped television interview had misrepresented the foreign minster’s comments.
“The reference to the international border, as opposed to the June 4, 1967, border was given as an example of basic differences throughout the years between Israel and Syria, and has nothing to do whatsoever with Israel’s position in current negotiations,” the source told the Jerusalem Post.
Peres himself sought to clarify his statements on Wednesday.
He told Israel Radio that what he meant was the Assad is now asking for more than previous Israeli leaders Eshkol and Begin had offered in earlier years.
In Damascus, meanwhile, Syria rejected a proposal by Peres to break the deadlock in the Israeli-Syrian negotiations.
Peres, in an interview published in the Israeli daily Ha’aretz, had suggested broadening the talks to address all aspects of a peace accord, not just security arrangements, which have been the sole subject of the most recent discussions.
He said all four aspects of a peace treaty should be discussed at the same time: withdrawal and borders, peace and the nature of relations, security arrangements and the withdrawal timetable.
Peres also repeated his call for the Israeli-Syrian negotiations to be upgraded to the foreign ministerial level. The current round of discussions are being held between the two countries’ ambassadors in Washington.
Syria’s Al-Ba’ath newspaper called Peres’ proposals “a new gimmick that aims at blowing off the peace initiative.”
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