PM: Syria, Iran lead terrorism against Israel
By HERB KEINON
Israel would be "very glad to negotiate" with Syria when Damascus stops its support for Hizbullah and Palestinian terrorist organizations, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Sunday night.
Speaking to foreign journalists in Jerusalem, Sharon said that Syria, even as it declares a willingness to negotiate with Israel, continues to aid and support Hizbullah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards in Lebanon.
Syria, Sharon said, "together with the Iranians, is leading terrorism against Israel."
Hizbullah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards operating from Lebanon "could not have done what they are doing" without Syrian help, he said.
The Syrian issue also dominated Sunday's cabinet meeting, with Sharon fending off requests by various ministers that he extend a hand to President Bashar Assad.
Justice Minister Yosef Lapid said that Israel is creating for itself the image of a nation that refuses to make peace.
"Once again we are in danger of losing the battle for world public opinion, because the impression is created that we are trying to avoid negotiating with the Syrians," he said. "The government should announce unequivocally that it is in favor of peace negotiations, and afterward say it is conditional on Syria ending its support for terrorism."
Sharon replied that Israel does not need to run into Assad's arms before looking into what is behind the initiative – namely, massive American pressure.
"Just as we demand that the Palestinians dismantle terrorism before beginning diplomatic negotiations, that is also the situation with Syria," he said. "Notwithstanding our strong desire for peace, this is an interest we will defend."
Sharon said that while it is clear that Israel is interested in peace with Syria, "as the head of military intelligence answered me last week, we need to remember that Syria still supports terrorism against Israel."
Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said the Bush administration is not opposed to Israel testing the Syrian overtures, but wants Syria to be judged on whether it fulfills commitments made to Secretary of State Colin Powell last year – closing the terrorist headquarters operating in Damascus, ending support for Hizbullah, and closing its border with Iraq.
He said that even if the Syrian overture were motivated by an attempt to curry favor with the US, it is still worth following up, even as Jerusalem watches to see whether Assad is following up his words with action.
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said, "It needs to be clear to Syrian President Bashar Assad that peace and terrorism don't go together. The domino effect of the American war in Iraq is pressuring Assad and pushing him to establish a dialogue in order to extricate him from his troubles."
He said that it is very possible Saddam Hussein, under interrogation by the US, will implicate Assad. US National Security Council Adviser Condoleezza Rice said recently the US is following up on leads that Iraq may have stashed some of its alleged weapons of mass destruction in Syria.
Sharon told the cabinet he has instructed Shalom to hold diplomatic contacts with Arab countries on the condition that they are willing to fight terrorism.
Shalom said that Israel held secret contacts with Syria several months ago, but the talks broke down after word of the meetings leaked out. He said that back channel talks with other unidentified Arab countries are continuing.
Shalom said the secret contacts took place seven or eight months ago with people "very close" to Assad.
"Unfortunately, after two meetings that the Israeli partners had with their Syrian colleagues, it leaked out. And while it was exposed, of course the Syrians didn't continue to negotiate through this track," he said.
"Negotiating with Syria," Shalom told reporters, "presents us as seekers of peace, puts Assad to the test, and pressures the Palestinians by letting them know we have other options."
National Infrastructure Minister Yosef Paritzky called on Sharon at the cabinet meeting to extend a hand to Assad.
"Thirty years ago, a leader named [Menachem] Begin said to Anwar Sadat, who said he was interested in peace, to come to Israel and conduct negotiations," he said. "I suggest to the prime minister act in a similar fashion and come out with a declaration that if Assad wants to conduct negotiations, you are willing to talk to him anywhere – without giving up on the principle that Syria end its support for terrorism."
Words such as these cannot hurt, he said, and indeed can only help Israel's image as a country that wants regional peace.
On the other hand, Health Minister Dan Naveh said the US is exerting a great deal of pressure on the Syrians, and Israel should not do anything to help Syria extract itself from this situation without changing its actions.
Everyone wants peace with Syria, Naveh said, but the way to test the sincerity of Assad is not through public declarations, but through "quiet" back channels.
Education Minister Limor Livnat said that Israel should not fall into the Syrian "trap." "I believe that the moves made by Syria are a manipulation," she said. "We should wait to see if there is anything real behind their words and statements."
In Damascus, a European Union envoy on Sunday discussed with Syrian officials ways to resume Syrian-Israeli peace talks, saying Europe is read to help "in any way possible."
Following an hour-long meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Shara, Marc Otte said the minister reiterated Syria's readiness to resume talks with Israel from the point they had stopped in January 2000.
"We are of course ready to help in any way possible for these talks to resume. ... But you need two to dance tango. I mean the other side has to accept too. We don't want to negotiate in the place of the parties," Otte said. "I am going to play the role of presenting our good offices to the two parties. The only way to reach peace is to negotiate."
AP contributed to this report.
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