Official close to PM met with Assad in Syria
One of the senior Jewish community members in the United States, Malcolm Hoelein, was invited by Syrian President Bashar Assad to visit Damascus, where he met with him on Monday. Officials in Jerusalem said Hoelein, who's regarded as close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was not sent by him and was not his envoy.
"Envoys are not the problem. There are different people visiting Damascus all the time. The problem with the Syrians is their starting positions in negotiations and the fact that they demand Israel to commit in advance to a full withdrawal," said an Israeli official. (Attila Somfalvi)
