 A Syrian government minister has said that his country may have to resort to "resistance" to regain control over the Golan Heights if the peace process with Israel is not revived soon.
| Countries don't conduct "resistance" against each other. They maintain relations, they negotiate, or they engage in "war." |
| Come now, Fred. It's their Legitimate Right™. Ev'rybody knows that. |
| And Syrian Resistance™ is a fearsome thing. |
The Israeli-Syrian peace process has been in the deep freeze since early 2000, when a U.S.-sponsored attempt to revive talks bottomed out after several months of negotiations.| I believe they ended when Syria was offered almost everything it wanted, but would settle for nothing less than everything it wanted. |
Although the Israeli-Syrian border along the Golan Heights has been one of Israel's quietest for more than 30 years -- with almost no infiltration attempts or trouble -- Israel says Syria continues its attempt to undermine the Jewish state by backing the Lebanese-based terrorist group Hizballah and hosting the headquarters of Palestinian terror groups in Damascus. In an interview that aired on Hizballah's Al-Manar television 12 days ago, Syrian Information Minister Muhsen Ballal said that if the peace process is not revived soon, Syrians would resort to "resistance" to liberate the Golan Heights.| My guess would be that Assad's come up with the idea of throwing Paleostinian "brigades" into the Golan area, an idea which could end up with Israeli tanks in Damascus. |
| He'll fight till the last Paleo is dead |
"The liberation of the Golan is a comprehensive Arab-Syrian demand, made by 20 million Syrians, and the leadership must take this demand into consideration. The Golan must be returned to the motherland, and there is no alternative but to liberate the Golan," Muhsen said, according to a translation provided on Monday by the Middle East Media Research Institute.
| This is known in diplomatic circles as a "suicide note." |
Muhsen indicated that the time for peace talks was running out. "Until now, we have been waiting, and allowing a short period of time... We are allowing the peace process to have its last moment... If the peace process does not come back to life, if it is not resurrected once again, our people will have no alternative other than resistance in order to liberate and regain the land," Muhsen said.| I'd suggest they think back to how they manged to lose it in the first place, but I've noticed there are distinct holes in the collective Arab memory, which as we know stretches back 1400 years. |
In response, Israel's Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said the problem is with Damascus. "Obviously, Israel wants peace with Syria," Regev said. "The trouble today is that the Syrian government appears uninterested in peace."
| At the moment they're interested in survival, which is why the saber-rattling. They're expecting the plebs to flock to the flag. |
| ... and get the more uppity ones to 'volunteer' for suicide missions ... |
It lends active support to terror groups and allows extremist groups like Islamic Jihad to operate from its territory and has relations with Hizballah, "an extremely negative, anti-peace element," said Regev. "If the regime in Damascus wants to be seen as a partner for peace, they should start acting like one," he said. |