DATE=4/11/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=ISRAEL / SYRIA / GOLAN (L)
NUMBER=2-261166
BYLINE=MEREDITH BUEL
DATELINE=JERUSALEM
CONTENT=
VOICE AT:
INTRO: Israel has approved the construction of 200
new homes on the Golan Heights because, officials say,
it does not appear that peace talks with Syria will
resume anytime soon. V-O-A Correspondent Meredith
Buel reports from Jerusalem.
TEXT: Israeli cabinet minister Haim Ramon says
further peace talks with Syria are pointless and the
government has authorized the construction of new
homes for settlers on the Golan Heights.
Mr. Ramon says as long as the Syrians maintain what he
calls "a hard-line and intransigent position" there is
no point in negotiating, and -- in his words -- "the
inhabitants of the Golan must be allowed to develop
economically," and have new housing.
In Mr. Ramon's words, "the present negotiations have
failed and the talks will probably be adjourned for a
long time."
The new homes are being built in Katzrin, the largest
settlement on the Golan.
A spokeswoman for the Golan Residents Committee, Marla
Van Meter, welcomed the government's decision to allow
the construction, but says residents are still
concerned about their future.
/// VAN METER ACT ///
I think what we have always known to be the truth, and
that is that Israel does not have a peace partner in
Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, was clear from the
onset. But I think the reality is that as long as the
Golan appears to be negotiable for this government we
still have a reason to worry and be concerned.
/// END ACT ///
Peace talks with Syria have been deadlocked over
demands by Syria that Israel withdraw completely from
the Golan Heights. Israel captured the strategic
plateau in the 1967 Middle East war.
The fate of the Sea of Galilee, a fresh-water lake at
the foot of the Golan, is one of the main obstacles to
a resumption of the peace negotiations.
Syria wants control of land on the northeastern shore
of the lake, which supplies 40 percent of Israel's
drinking water. Israel wants to maintain sovereignty
over the entire shoreline.
A summit between President Clinton and Syrian leader
Hafez al-Assad last month in Geneva failed to restart
the peace talks.
About 17-thousand Israelis live on the Golan Heights.
(Signed)
NEB/MB/JWH
11-Apr-2000 10:29 AM EDT (11-Apr-2000 1429 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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