By NNN-KUNA,
Gaza : Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said that Israel was on the threshold of “a historic process” with Syria, according to reports reaching here from Israel.
The ongoing talks with Syria are serious and could remove the threat to Israel’s northern areas, Israeli local daily Yediot Ahronot quoted Olmert as saying.
The talks are going on in line with the real situation now not the situation 10 years ago, he pointed out.
The prime minister asserted that his government took the issue of negotiations with Syria seriously and prepared well for them.
Israel and Syria announced last Wednesday they had begun indirect talks in Turkey, their first negotiations in eight years.
Syria has demanded the return of the Golan Heights, a plateau overlooking Damascus on one side and the Sea of Galilee on the other. Israel captured the territory in the Middle East war of 1967 and annexed it in 1981 in a move not recognised internationally.
Regarding the truce deal with the Palestinians being brokered by Egypt, Olmert said Israel would resort to another way in handling the issue in case of failure of the Egyptian mediation efforts.
The Israeli opposition accused Olmert of using the talks with Syria to distract attention from the ongoing investigations into his involvement in corruption cases.
Meanwhile, many observers in Israel believe he no longer have political power enough to enable him strike a landmark deal with Syria.