Under both the Balfour Decleration and the Legue of Nations mandate given to the British to govern Palestine and prepare for the creataion of a jewish homeland The Golan was part of Palestine and the promised jewish homeland but then the British illigaly traded the Golan with the French who had the mandate for Lebenon in exchange the British got one of the provinces of Iraq and all its oil. Syria wrongly controled the Golan for no more than 30 years Israel liberated the Golan 40 years ago. THE GOLAN BELONGS TO ISRAEL AND MUST FOREVER REMAIN PART OF ISRAEL NO MATTER WHAT SYRIA WANTS.

If so, which part of your body is it located ?

Yeah, that's it, Mo. The glorious Syrian freedom fighters shot down all our F-15s, forcing Olmert to give up the Golan just so Assad will answer his phone calls. They're just keeping it a big secret from everybody, in a gracious display of good old islamic humility. But you're too smart for them, aren't you, Mo? I also really enjoy the way you condone the most cowardly forms of murder as a preferred means of removing elected officials whose policies you may not comletely agree with. Very civilized. I think you'll be very happy in the Hezbollastan sewer you'll soon be living in. Maybe.

Israel is showing the hand of friendship to Syria, as it did to Egypt and Jordan. Now, does Assad want peace?

Peace with Syria, sounds like a joke that was made in the house of lies (UN). I didn't trust olmert from day one, every thing he does is with out thinking. Israelis, you should oust your current Government. Or you can go back to Poland.

Come next election, he will lose badly and he will be remembered as a traitor of the worst kind. How dare he put Israeli lives at risk. The Golan is ISRAELI land and it must stay this way. So much blood was spilt for this land and to give it to Syria would be lunacy. The Syrians DO NOT want peace and giving them this land would leave Israel in a very vulnerable position.

the handwriting is on the wall,for everyone to see,this criminally insane,traitorous,incompotent pathetic fool,who is pretending to be prime minister,has decided to throw you out of your homes,and bring back the murderous syrian gangsters to the golan. just as he has done to the jews of gush katif he will do to you. citizens of israel the choice is yours,either you send this traitorous insane fool packing or start packing yourselves,

Ehud sat with the police investigators yesterday and came out with a "peace plan" !! I guess Olmert thinks that a inept, corrupt, murderer, who is arming himself with nuclear weapons is his equal. Who are we to disagree?

One does not discuss peace with an enemy 10 days after attacking them and destroying their dream of anihilating you. Assad wants peace with Israel as much as he wants herpes from Amadinejad. (Ane he will likely get the herpes first.)

I think he just wants to bomb another piece of Syria .

He is offering Assad a chance to pull a Khadafi and save his skin. Assad is totally isolated...even Muslim Turkey could not care less that Israel violated Turkish airspace. This is Assad's last chance before it is off with his head.

Funny how you blame Syria for murdering Lebanese (which is maybe, just maybe, a scapegoat) when Israel invaded it five times, killing twenty thousand of its citizens, established an infamous prison Khiam (overrun by Hezbollah in 2000) where torture was commonplace. It is foolish to pretend to care for Lebanon. Why? BECAUSE YOU DON'T!!!

Since when? Surely, you must be mistaken. Last time I visited the Golan there were Israeli flags flying there - not Syrian. The humiliation of defeat and the Golan is the price your idiot leader paid for continually attacking Israel. Get over it!

Where did this brain-dead Talkbacker drift in from? His polemic diatribes are a waste of bandwith and insulting to those with a double-digit IQ or more. He should probably head back to the Farfar Mouse Forum from whence he came.

So now we have Greenspan-- in no way a neocon, totally a dollarocon-- telling us in his memoir that the Iraq War was all about oil. And, now we have John Bolton slave-toll of the neocons telling us that Israel's weekend air attacks on Syria are practice runs for attack on Iran. But SecDef Gates tells us as recently as today that Iraq is all about WMDs, the ones we never found, neither in Iraq nor in Iran. This raises the question of whether the infamous neocon call for "WW IV" so that Israel can dominate the Mideast is nothing more than, once again, the masters of Zionism coming to the great powers asking that they establish a Jewish state in return for which the Jewish state runs their colonial interests in the region (Zionists allegedly made such offers to the Ottomans, the British, the French, the Soviets and now the Americans). This sounds like a neat explanation-- TOO NEAT-- not for what the Zionists are doing but for why Bush kept the neocons around him despite the great liability in utter lack of political savvy they exhibited. The neocons have always operated as an under the table outfit, so I do not share the view of some on the primacy of ideology as end for the neocons-- rather as means to payoff. I still believe that they are in it for the doe, based on past record, only recently exposed. In my opinion, all their think-tanks and nefarious "foundation" fundings and all their influence peddling through Rumsfeld, Cheney and JINSA, AIE, etc. add up to only one thing: obtuse unknowing cover for Bush so that he can satisfy the underwriters of his post-presidency: the Saudis. I have for some years now heard Israeli friends in the know curse the neocons as cover for Saudi attempts to rule Islam with American assistance through projects such as those that led to the rise of alQaeda. If that is so (Woodward points out that the first person Bush consulted for advice when he decided to run for president-- based on his poppy's urging-- was Prince Bandar, the ambassador of the very nation, some of whose citizens brought us 9/11) then it would be very legitimate for Congress to ask Bush point blank: ARE YOU KEEPING OUR KIDS DYING IN IRAQ SO THAT WE CAN STEAL ITS OIL (per in-the-know Greenspan) AND ASSURE SAUDI DOMINANCE OVER THE MUSLIM WORLD? But Congress doesn't-- not even Murtha, who so weeps for our malled soldiers at Walter Reed! Why? So far, every reason for the Iraq War put forward has been layed to waste as based on nonsense... except for the: "WE HAVE A MORAL OBLIGATION TO OUR ALLY ISRAEL," which frankly does not ring true, given how much Israel suffered at Bush's hands. When Olmert came to the US in March 2006 to beg for an extra $10 billion above what we normally give annually because his economy is in crisis, Bush insisted that Israel destroy Hezbollah en route to attacking Iran as a way to earn his generosity. Israel got malled and had to back-off. So, is Bolton right that in its despair its pilots are rendered Bush's mercenaries once more? This mess of mysteries-- I cannot claim to speak "this is it" irrefutably so I am as puzzled by what I hear and write as anyone else-- only goes to show that whether the worst of our conspiratorial fears are true or not, we have no credence anchor with this president that we can count on so we can say: nah, nobody would be that crazy....But that we continue to claim that Olmert is pushing instead of being pushed by Bush-- who in turn may have been all along pushed by the Saudis-- highlights the disconnect between voters, legislators and the "decider," suggesting that we may no longer be the best model of democracy to export abroad. Daniel E. Teodoru

it seems olmert has a sense of humour after all - this is really mocking syria. besides , he isnt offering anyting, and he knows that syria will nto negotiate with him now :)

Olmert you respect assad, I have no respect for you and your policy.

Which IT started. The Golan was used as a military base and launch pad to bombard the Israelis down in the valley. Really friendly stuff. When Syria invaded Israel - the Golan was captured. But I suppose that Jews aren't allowed to win wars and capture land from their enemies like everyone else does?

There's plenty of Israelis who want to live in peace - if the arabs would accept it. You guys dont want Israel. None of you do. Stop bleating about "peace" - you dont know what it is. Instead go and buy yourself an Israeli/US flag doormat so you can be in step with your mates in Iran.

He is/was a lousy PM. He is all the things you say but maybe just maybe he will pull it off. Just maybe he will cause graet confusion and destruction in Syria. Jesus Christ make it happen. Sorry you are Jews so I say may God make it happen. Syria on her knees.

"..I have a lot of respect for the Syrian leader.." respect for what? - - for arming Hezbolla terrorists? - for giving cover to Hamas killers? - for political assasinations in Lebanon? - for making his country a hostage of clerical fascists? And what is it about this Tibi guy? If he's concerned more about "Syrian's sovereignty", than the safety of Israeli citizens - the time has come to deport him to Syria. F***ing traitor.

Olmert's policy is similar to other Israeli prime miniters- to try and make peace when he can. For that he needs Arab cooperation. To move the region forward and stop wasting the potential of the people-Jewish and Arab in war, cooperation is needed.

How can it be that Israeli PM Olmert is offering to talk with Syria, with no pre-conditions, even though both countries are still "at war" with each other? In the case of the Palestinians, however, crippling pre-conditions have been attached to the package? Why the double standard? As for the American posters who believe that Israel's national interests are paramount , your allegiance should be to the USA, not to some faith-based, militarized, colonial enterprise located half-way around the globe. If you disagree, please make Aliyah and renounce your US citizenship. This would create room here for those immigrants who wish to fully assimilate into our pluralistic, secular culture. Sine the USA is Israel's primary financial and military benefactor, the USA has every right to "meddle" in Israeli affairs. Americans are paying the piper, we Americans should get to call the tune.