Word: assad
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JERUSALEM: The war of words between Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres and opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu heated up, as Peres accused the Likud leader of sending secret messages to Syrian President Hafez Assad. The messages, Peres told the Knesset yesterday, say Israel will be ready to trade land for peace if Likud wins the parliamentary elections later this year. Netanyahu denied the charges, calling them "a big bluff." Jerusalem bureau chief Lisa Beyer reports: "This accusation dates back to Rabin, who also accused Netanyahu of sending such messages. And for two prime ministers to make that accusation does carry with...
...shores of the Sea of Galilee, the leaders of Israel and Jordan looked across the waters toward Damascus and called upon Syria to reach peace with Israel. Secretary of State Warren Christopher joined Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres and Jordan's King Hussein in inviting Syrian President Hafez Assad to seize what Peres called "the galloping prospect of peace." Christopher on Friday will travel to Damascus to try to persuade Assad to follow Hussein and reach a peace agreement with Israel. "Hussein's visit, his first since Yitzhak Rabin's funeral, is seen by the local commentators as sending...
...both sides hope will lay the groundwork for a peace agreement. The talks are being brokered by the United States. Beirut bureau chief Lara Marlowe reports: "The principal barrier is clearly the future of the Golan Heights. Israel has refused to give it up entirely, and Syrian President Hafez Assad hasn't changed his position one iota. He wants control over the entire Golan Heights region. That means no Israeli presence whatsoever. Assad is very shrewd, and he knows that his place in history is tied to the Golan. Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres has a reputation as more conciliatory...
...most contentious issue, control of the Golan Heights: "I don't think these negotiations will produce anything of serious consequence. The problem is with the Syrian ruling elite who are concerned about their place in history. This is an obsession among this group, which is headed by Assad. They are afraid of being called traitors for talking with the Israelis. Assad's dilemma is that he does not want to appear to be blocking the peace, but he can't be seen to be bending to the Israelis. Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres, on the other hand, needs to establish...
Although Syrian President Hafez Assad has condemned the assassination, his official state-run paper expressed no sorrow at the event. Syria and its client Lebanon are the only neighboring countries that have not signed a peace agreement with Israel, and little progress has been made in Syrian-Israeli peace talks since they began in 1991. "Syria's stand toward the peace process is fixed and it is still sincere to the issue of just and comprehensive peace in the region," the Tishrin daily said. "Syria will persist with this path regardless of this or that incident." In Lebanon, many cheered...