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Syrian Speech at Annapolis: Golan Never Belonged to Israel
The Syrian and Lebanese delegates to the Annapolis conference Tuesday were provided a forum in which to express their countries' views, but were not accorded the privilege of delivering a speech to the conference plenum.Speaking at a workshop entitled "Towards a Comprehensive Middle East Peace," Syrian Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Faisal al-Mekdad insisted that Israel must hand over the Golan Heights and totally withdraw from the "1967 Arab land." Only then, he declared, would Damascus consider "normalizing" ties with the Jewish State. He then said Syria "is sincere in seeking a comprehensive and just peace and possesses the political will to achieve it." Israeli officials said the Syrian delegate also demanded that Israel withdraw from the Har Dov (Sheba'a Farms) area as well. Seven years ago, the late Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, father of the current president, refused an Israeli offer to hand over most of the Golan. Under the proposal, Israel would retain sovereignty over the eastern shore of Lake Kinneret (the Sea of Galilee). Now the Syrian government has decided to begin a new strategy it hopes will raise the issue to the level of international concern. Syrian government engineer Hilal al-Ghaeb was quoted by Reuters on Tuesday as saying Damascus now intends to populate its side of the Golan border with a housing project that would contain more than 1,000 apartments. Construction of the complex to house thousands of Arabs is designed to create "facts on the ground" and is reportedly already underway, with bulldozers clearing ground under the nose of Israeli tanks on the border. "These projects are a message to Israel," said al-Ghaeb. "The refugees will no longer be scattered in slums and camps all around Syria. Soon they will live here and stare right at their Israeli occupiers." The reference is to the Arabs who fled the Golan village of Adnanieh in 1967 at the behest of the attacking Syrians and other Arab leaders, who promised they would quickly win the war and destroy the Jewish State. They have not returned since the 1967 Six Day War.
Posted by: anonymous5089 2007-11-28 |
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