We are promising in advance we will pay Assads price before we even talk with him. Whats the point of talking why not just sign the dotted line now and say here are the keys to the Golan we will start moving our people? What this does show is how weak and pathetic Israel has become under this crooked Olmert regime. When Sharon was running things Assad knew his place and when he asked for talks he asked for talks without conditions. Today he says we will only talk if you garuntee in advance to give me the Golan. We need laws now to protect the Golan from weak and corupt politicians like Olmert. A 2 third Knesset majority and if they get that then the final say must be with the public through an indipendently drafted referendum. As the law stands now all it takes is a Knesset majority so all Olmert needs is 51% of the vote and he gets his way and he buys support with taxpayer money. He needs the votes from shas he promises the public will pay for some new yeshivot and other religious instiutions and he has Shas in the bag. he wants Labout he just asks Barak what the taxpayers can do for him so he pays the price and he has Baraks vote. the Golan is legaly just as much Israeli territory as Tel Aviv or Ashkelon as it was formerly anexed along with East Jerusalem. The way the law stands with regard to the Golan & East jerusalem in theory means if Olmert wanted to give away Tel Aviv as part of his precious peace process all he needs is a 51% Knesset majority The majority of the public is against giving up the Golan so if we have any sort of democracy in this country not a dictaitorship where the PM can say get lost I am not interested in what you want then we need new laws.

Syria preconditioning the talks on a guarantee they will get everything they want in advance is a non-starter. Israel says @ the conclusion of the deal, Iran must be distanced and Hamas thrown out and no support for Hizbullah. Anyone believe this will come to bear? Maybe thats Syria's price for better relations with the US, but they wont pay it. Maybe Israel should be demanding this up front...what do they have to lose? It seems to be working for Syria. Syria will probably have to get used to another 60 years of Israel on the Golan. Not that they deserve it back @ all.

Israel should say NO to Assad-the Butcher of Lebanese leaders. Israel can them to go to HELL.

oops I forgot. They're negotiating with the appeasement government looking to have public attention diverted from their extreme corruption. The Golan is not like Gaza - it is LEGALLY part of the Jewish State, as much as Haifa and TA. When olmert and his traitors surrender them, and their residents better be prepared for the treasonous trio to do that, then we'll consider it

I love that "nuclear attack on Iran" qoute. Oh, yes: Israel is just prancing around looking for an opportunity to drop an A-bomb on everybody. I really think conventional weapons could role Iran back very nicely. Maybe they could pry open a big enough opportunity for their own people to rise up. There are plenty even in Amedni whatever's revolutionary guards that are just laying low and biding their time till they can do him in.

If it is indeed true that talks are based on Israel giving away the Golan Hts. for a deceptive peace, the politician(s) involved should be sent to prison before they can do more damage.

Golan is more israeli than syrian. Syria attacked israel and lost this disputed territory. Syria can say what it wants but golan is not on the table as soon as olmert, the quisling,is kicked out.

The Arabs now see Israel as weak and feckless, so desperate for an agreement - any agreement - they see it as ripe for the taking. This is what comes of a foreign policy based on concessions to an enemy. My answer to Syria? "We owe you nothing. Come back when you're serious about peace."

So what are they going to negotiate about???

Sad fact, but Assad may be a murdering and ruthless dictator, but Olmert is worse.

Yossi Peled, former Northern District Command chief for the IDF, called a withdrawal from the Golan Heights "suicide." Peled took a philosophical turn and concluded by saying, "Peace for the Jewish State is not a goal. Peace is a means to a goal, and our goal is to ensure the physical existence of the Jewish State. That is the goal and hopefully we will then be able to achieve peace." There is no majority in the Knesset, nor in the nation for withdrawal from the Golan - more than 70 out of the 120 Knesset Members oppose withdrawal from the Golan Heights. Among the Israeli public, Katz claimed, 70% oppose concessions on the Golan.

Let's all remember that Syria is still on the list of "Countries sponsoring terrorism"! If Syria is "allowed" to set preconditions to any peace talk then so should Israel be permitted to do so and one of those conditions should be the Syria forthwith stop supporting Hamas and all the other terrorist organisations she presently supports.

we now can tell that Assad and co. are really not interested in a workable peace deal!