Word: golan
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Israel's primary objective remains protecting its northernmost population centers from attacks across the Lebanese border. But the key to long-term peace on its northern flank is reaching agreement with Syria over the fate of the Golan Heights...
...long as the Israelis have, and Damascus retains de facto military and political control over its fragile neighbor. Israel's Lebanon dilemma had for most of the past decade been a key bargaining chip in Syria's efforts to negotiate a peace agreement involving Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights. Israel's unilateral retreat from Lebanon has now deprived Damascus of that leverage, calling Syria's bluff. Moreover, it's beginning to raise the question among Lebanese of what purpose is served by Syria's presence, which has been presented as a defense against Israel...
...tranquillity. Oh, sure, that final White House signing ceremony that eventually ends hostilities will open the way, unevenly and begrudgingly at first, for tourism across the Golan Heights, quiet along the Galilee, coexistence in Jerusalem and joint ventures in Jordan and the Gaza Strip. But a Middle East peace deal doesn't mean peace in the Middle East...
...backdrop for the latest exchange is the breakdown of peace talks between Israel and Syria over Israel's refusal to accept Assad's demand of total Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights, which Israel took control of during the 1967 war. Syria's primary leverage in dealing with Israel in recent years has been its ability to guarantee security in Lebanon, which is subject to de facto Syrian military control, and allow Israel to end an occupation that's deeply unpopular with the Israeli electorate. But when talks broke down over the Golan issue, Prime Minister Ehud Barak decided...
...Israeli and Syrian governments eventually reach an agreement, it would be folly for the Israeli public to scuttle it. Ultimately, for Israel the strongest defense against Syria is not the strategic buffer of the Golan Heights, but the destabilizing influence peace will have on Assad's authoritarian rule. The current regime in Damascus is a major bottleneck to peace; it occupies Lebanon with 30,000 troops, allows the radical Iranian-inspired Hezbollah to operate against Israel, and remains on the State Department's list of terrorist-sponsoring states. A Syrian-Israeli agreement under these circumstances will be more like...