There are strong hints here that Syria in negotiating with the United States on disengagement with Israel will take an extremely hard uncompromising line. Evidence for this was seen in a statement Be Sabah Kabani, Syria’s new diplomatic representative here who said be viewed Israel as a “ghost.”
“You can’t negotiate with a ghost.” Kabani was quoted as saying. “Which Israel am I dealing with–the Israel of 1948, the Israel of 1956, the Israel of 1967 or the Israel of 1974? Every Israeli politician has a different map.” Kabani, is expected to participate in the talks with Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger along with Brig. Gen. Hikmak Chebabi, who is scheduled to arrive in Washington tomorrow.
Kabani, a 45-year-old former lawyer arrived here in Feb. to improve communication between the U.S. and Syria and opened an office in the famed Watergate complex. He has explained his country’s shelling of Israeli positions on the Golan Heights as a means of keeping Israel from fortifying and settling their positions. He charged that Israel, as soon as it takes territory, settles it to create “an ipso facto.” He declared that Syria will demand that Israel withdraw from all territory taken from her.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
