Syria offers Israel chance to avoid war
 |
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said Israeli policies encourage "resistance", which only ensures that the day will come when Syria will free the Golan Heights "through peace or through war". |
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says all Israeli governments have pursued hawkish policies only to give rise to the philosophy of resistance.
In an interview with the al-Sharq newspaper on Thursday, Assad said there is enough evidence to assume that Tel Aviv will never seek peace.
"All Israeli governments are the same: Ariel Sharon carried out a massacre in Palestine, and [Ehud] Barak aided the war in Gaza in that there is no difference between the right and the left in Israel," he explained. "This enemy does not want peace."
Assad described how normal citizens have grown tired of the sixty years of Israeli efforts to grab more land and occupy other territories.
"From the war of Palestine (in 1948) to the occupation of the Golan (in the Six Day War in 1967) people are becoming more hostile towards Israel. There may come a generation that is unwilling to talk peace," he said.
His remarks are considered a reaction to a Thursday announcement by Israel's new foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman -- who ruled out the possibility of Israel withdrawing from the Golan Heights.
"There is no cabinet resolution regarding negotiations with Syria, and we have already said that we will not agree to withdraw from the Golan Heights," said Lieberman in an interview with Israeli daily Ha'aretz.
"Whoever thinks that he will achieve something by way of concessions - no, he will only invite more pressure and more wars. If you want peace, prepare for war," he added.
Israel captured the Golan Heights following the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed the Syrian territory in 1981.
Under the auspices of Turkey, Israel and Syria last May launched peace talks aimed at reaching a comprehensive peace agreement.
Negotiations reached a stalemate in September after the resignation of former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert.
Syria then withdrew from the talks in protest at the latest Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip -- in late December 2008 and January 2009 -- where at least 1,330 Palestinians lost their lives to the three-week carnage.
"When a citizen loses hope - he will turn to the path of resistance, in one from or the other," Assad reacted to the new Israeli stance.
"What is the alternative?" he asked. "The parallel route to the peace process is resistance. The Israeli will not come by his own will, so there is no alternative but for him to overcome fear."
"There is no escaping the fact that the day will come when we will free the Golan, through peace or through war," he explained.
In an interview with the al-Sharq newspaper on Thursday, Assad said there is enough evidence to assume that Tel Aviv will never seek peace.
"All Israeli governments are the same: Ariel Sharon carried out a massacre in Palestine, and [Ehud] Barak aided the war in Gaza in that there is no difference between the right and the left in Israel," he explained. "This enemy does not want peace."
Assad described how normal citizens have grown tired of the sixty years of Israeli efforts to grab more land and occupy other territories.
"From the war of Palestine (in 1948) to the occupation of the Golan (in the Six Day War in 1967) people are becoming more hostile towards Israel. There may come a generation that is unwilling to talk peace," he said.
His remarks are considered a reaction to a Thursday announcement by Israel's new foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman -- who ruled out the possibility of Israel withdrawing from the Golan Heights.
"There is no cabinet resolution regarding negotiations with Syria, and we have already said that we will not agree to withdraw from the Golan Heights," said Lieberman in an interview with Israeli daily Ha'aretz.
"Whoever thinks that he will achieve something by way of concessions - no, he will only invite more pressure and more wars. If you want peace, prepare for war," he added.
Israel captured the Golan Heights following the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed the Syrian territory in 1981.
Under the auspices of Turkey, Israel and Syria last May launched peace talks aimed at reaching a comprehensive peace agreement.
Negotiations reached a stalemate in September after the resignation of former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert.
Syria then withdrew from the talks in protest at the latest Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip -- in late December 2008 and January 2009 -- where at least 1,330 Palestinians lost their lives to the three-week carnage.
"When a citizen loses hope - he will turn to the path of resistance, in one from or the other," Assad reacted to the new Israeli stance.
"What is the alternative?" he asked. "The parallel route to the peace process is resistance. The Israeli will not come by his own will, so there is no alternative but for him to overcome fear."
"There is no escaping the fact that the day will come when we will free the Golan, through peace or through war," he explained.
0 Have Your Say!:
Post a Comment