By Xu Gang, Xinhua,
Jerusalem : Different types of tanks, large or small, heavy or light, new or old, lie quietly in the brilliant sunshine.
Among the tanks displayed in Israel’s Armored Corps Museum, a site about half an hour’s ride from Jerusalem, some witnessed the Yom Kippur War and served as a reminder of the war breaking out 35 years ago.
The Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, also known as the Day of Atonement, begins Wednesday evening this year. During Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, Jews fast and spend much of the day praying.
In Israel, Yom Kippur is a national holiday and many activities are suspended, including TV and radio broadcasts and public transportation. Some roads are closed, as are entertainment venues.
Beside the various tanks on exhibition, there is an area called “The Yom Kippur Display,” which describes to visitors the Yom Kippur War with words — in both Hebrew and English — and photos.
On Oct. 6, 1973, the day of Yom Kippur, the war broke out when Egypt and Syria attacked Israel. Six years later, in 1979, Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty, the first between Israel and an Arab state.
Israel has maintained peace with Egypt ever since, but has been unable to achieve a lasting peace agreement with its neighbor Syria.
“It is a pity, but we will continue the talks with the Syrians,” an Israeli officer, who declined to give his name, told Xinhua Tuesday.
Peace negotiations between Israel and Syria broke off in 2000, when then Israeli Prime Minister and now Defense Minister Ehud Barak refused Syria’s request to fully withdraw from the Golan Heights.
Israel seized the strategic plateau from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day-War and annexed it in 1981, a move that was not recognized by the international community.
In mid-May 2008, Israel and Syria simultaneously announced that they had started peace talks under Turkey’s auspices with a goal of reaching a comprehensive peace, the first confirmation of diplomatic contacts between the two neighbors in eight years.
In late July, Israel and Syria concluded their fourth round of indirect peace talks in the largest Turkish city of Istanbul. According to a statement issued by the Turkish Prime Minister’s office, the two parties have made progress during the talks which were held “in a productive and very positive way.”
“The parties have affirmed their joint will to hold another round of talks. They set a date for the fifth round,” said the statement. However, the fifth round had been postponed twice due to the volatile internal politics in Israel.
Despite the fact that both Israel and Syria want to continue the talks, difference over the Golan Heights, among others, remains and overshadows the prospect of the talks.
Syria is firm on its demand that Israel should withdraw completely from the occupied territories to achieve peace, while Israel maintains that Syria should cut ties with Israel’s foes, including Iran, radical Palestinian groups and Lebanese Hezbollah group — a position backed by the United States.
In the Military Cemetery in Jerusalem, 63-year-old Yona Morhi, a woman whose brother was killed at the age of 23 during the Yom Kippur War, told Xinhua Tuesday that the war has distressed many families, adding that talks should continue in order to hammer outpeace.
“We’d like to have true peace with Syria. However, it is really difficult. It may take a long time,” said Orena, daughter of Morhi, before her late uncle’s grave.