By Xinhua
Jerusalem : Israeli Infrastructure Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer said Friday that Israel has been trying to bring Syria back to the negotiating table.
“All efforts are being made to bring Syria to the negotiating table in order to sign a peace treaty,” Ben-Eliezer was quoted by Israel Radio as saying.
These remarks came days after Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert hinted that Israel would favor face-to-face talks with Syria that could result in a peace treaty.
According to Ben-Eliezer, Israeli government is fully aware of the price of the negotiation, which might be the return of the Golan Heights to the Syrians, a strategic plateau captured from Syria in the 1967 Six Day War.
However, it is not clear that whether there have been any result from Israel’s efforts to resume talks with Syria. Speaking with foreign journalists Wednesday, Olmert hinted that Israel has been secretly contacting with Syria.
A week earlier, Olmert told a joint meeting of the Israeli and German cabinets that he was ready to restart negotiations with Syria if Damascus would end its support for Lebanon’s Hezbollah guerrillas and Palestinian militant groups. All are backed by Iran and opposed to Israel’s existence.
Since Israel’s 2006 war with Hezbollah, both Israel and Syriahave declared their readiness to renew negotiations and exchanged messages through third party emissaries, but there has been no sign of movement.
The Israeli efforts to engage Syria in negotiations come at a time when Israeli attempts to reach a peace deal with the Palestinians are making no visible progress.