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Golan residents will not have to leave – Syrian official

At conference marking 40 years since Israel seized Golan Heights, Syrian ambassador to London invites Israelis to remain under Syrian sovereignty, leave 'apartheid state'

LONDON - At a conference commemorating 40 years since the Israeli occupation of the Golan Heights, Dr Sami Khiyami, Syrian ambassador to London, implied that his country would be willing to allow Israeli residents of the disputed region to continue living there even if the Golan was returned to Syria.

 

The Syrian Media Centre held a one-day conference entitled: "The Golan: Ending Occupation, Establishing Peace" on Saturday at which spoke a number of parliamentarians, diplomats and legal and strategic experts.

 

Opening the conference, which was held at SOAS, University of London, Dr Khiyami appealed to Israel not to forfeit the opportunity provided by the Arab Peace Initiative adopted in Beirut in 2002 and re-affirmed in Riyadh this year.

 

In answer to a question addressed to the panel concerning the fate of Israeli settlers in the Golan after its return to Syrian sovereignty, Dr. Khiyami stated that they may well prefer to remain under Syrian sovereignty, as "Syria is a safe haven for all its neighbors - a secular country that respects all faiths and whose citizens have always enjoyed equal rights - rather than return, as they will have to do in accordance with international law, to Israel - an apartheid state with false pretences to democracy".

 

Two Israelis attended the conference. David Sasson from Forum of the Peace Initiative with Syria told Ynet that he was received genially by the conference organizers and was asked to dine with the ambassador at his table. The other Israeli to attend was Dimi Rider, a peace activist and communications major.

 

Syrian officials at the embassy in London refused Ynet's request for comment as, they said, they did not talk to the Israeli press. They refused to confirm or deny the ambassador's statement. He said the conference organizers should be able to provide further details.

 

After a period full of belligerent statements and tension between Israel and Syria, several weeks ago appeasing comments were made in Damascus and Jerusalem.

 

At the beginning of June, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that he agreed to "holding direct negotiations with the Syrians – but without predefined conditions." The day after, Syrian officials told a French news agency that Syria was prepared to resume negotiations.

 

That same week, Yedioth Ahronoth reported that Olmert had offered the Golan Heights to Syria in return for comprehensive peace with Israel and severing all ties with Iran and terrorist organizations. An official source has said that Bashar Assad has yet to respond to Olmert's statement.

 


פרסום ראשון: 06.18.07, 23:57
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