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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Israeli officials deny full withdrawal from Golan |
| 2008-05-22 |
| (Xinhua) -- Israeli officials on Wednesday dismissed a statement by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem that Israel has promised to withdraw from the Golan Heights to the borders drawn before the 1967 Six Day War, local daily the Jerusalem Post reported. Shortly after Israel, Syria and Turkey confirmed the existence of Ankara-mediated peace talks, Moallem said Damascus has received Israel's commitment for a withdrawal from the highland to the June 4, 1967 line. However, Israeli officials in Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office denied the claim, according to the report, saying "as Olmert has said in the past, Syria knows what Israel demands of it and Israel knows what Syria expects it to do." Meanwhile, another Israeli daily Ha'aretz quoted an official as saying that Olmert has given Syria a "formula" for the Golan Heights which the Syrian side wanted, but the details remain secret. The Golan Heights, a strategic plateau Israel captured from Syria in 1967 and annexed in 1981, plays a key role in the peace process between the two neighbors, which broke off in 2000 when Israel refused Syria's request for a full withdrawal. |
| Posted by:Fred |