DATE=12/10/1999
TYPE=U-S OPINION ROUNDUP
TITLE=ISRAEL AND SYRIA SET TO RESUME PEACE TALKS
NUMBER=6-11589
BYLINE=ANDREW GUTHRIE
DATELINE=WASHINGTON
TELEPHONE=619-3335
CONTENT=
TEXT: President Clinton's announcement that Syria and
Israel will resume top-level negotiations toward a
peace settlement has gotten a great deal of editorial
comment. Most of the papers salute the move and
praise President Clinton, Madeleine Albright and
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak for moving forward
on one of the most intransigent components of a
comprehensive Middle East peace.
We get a sampling of reaction now from __________ in
today's U-S Opinion Roundup.
TEXT: The announcement was heralded in a number of
editorial columns, although virtually every paper said
that coming to terms with the key issue, Syrian
repossession of the strategic Golan Heights, captured
by Israel in the 1967 war, was going to be a huge
diplomatic obstacle.
The talks will begin next week in Washington, with
Prime Minister Ehud Barak representing Israel and
Syrian foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa representing
his country. Syrian President Hafez el-Assad will
participate indirectly from Damascus. We begin our
sampling in Florida, where the Miami Herald calls the
resumption "a genuine breakthrough."
VOICE: With no exaggeration, President Clinton called
this week's agreement to talk "a truly historic
opportunity." Still, all the hard work lies ahead. .
The breakthrough is an unexpected bonus for Israel.
It now can proceed apace with simultaneous talks with
two of its major Middle East antagonists - the
Palestinians and Syria. With Syria, there is the
opportunity - if all goes well - for Mr. Barak to
fulfill his oft-repeated campaign pledge to withdraw
Israeli troops from their protective and costly
holding pattern in southern Lebanon. .. In seizing
this moment, Ms. Albright has shown Israel's and
Syria's leaders that their common goals can be
achieved by mutual trust. That's a big step, but it
mustn't be the last.
TEXT: In the nation's capital, the Washington Post,
reminds readers of the historical perspective.
VOICE: Syria and Israel have never been at peace.
They have known war and are practiced in living side
by side but apart. It will take a long political leap
by the two to reach just to the cold start of a
relationship that at best is bound to be wary and
restricted for years.
TEXT: On New York's Long Island, Newsday sees this
latest news as part of a positive continuum toward
peace that is gaining momentum.
VOICE: Taken together, the reopening of talks with
Syria and the halting of settlement activity [in
Israel] demonstrates that there is a real opportunity
for a comprehensive peace. That will undoubtedly take
the direct involvement, eventually of President Bill
Clinton. But the developments this week should give
[Mr.] Clinton incentive to become involved.
TEXT: The Hartford [Connecticut] Courant is cheering
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak for keeping to a
schedule of moves he promised during the election,
including resuming peace talks with Syria.
VOICE: Five months after assuming office, he is on
target. . Mr. Barak and Mr. Assad know that they will
get considerable heat for, respectively, "giving up"
land and recognizing the long-demonized "Zionist
entity." . Although the road to lasting peace will be
difficult and may lead nowhere, it's better to embark,
as Syria and Israel have done, than to remain stuck in
the sand.
TEXT: In Rhode Island, the Providence Journal is
praising President Clinton for helping get the two
sides together after such a long hiatus, but warns:
VOICE: . no one thinks . this is going to be easy.
The central point of contention, the Golan Heights, is
immensely strategic. . Still, Mr. Barak has now gone
the extra mile to signal his readiness for a
comprehensive settlement. It's now up to the Syrians
and Palestinians to signal their desire for peace.
TEXT: In Pittsburgh, the Post-Gazette sees another
factor as helping move things along.
VOICE: A sense of his own mortality also might have
brought President Assad back to the table. He has
ruled Syria since 1970 and would like to bequeath
power to his son Bashar. Recovering the Golan Heights
. would provide the Assad dynasty with a greater
luster at home.
TEXT: And in the Midwest, a hopeful Chicago Tribune
explains:
VOICE: A peace treaty with Syria would pave the way
for an expected Israeli troop pullout next July from
southern Lebanon, Syria's client state. It also could
build momentum for an Israeli deal with the
Palestinians, not to mention a wider peace between
Israel and as much as half of the Arab world, if
others follow. That kind of comprehensive peace would
put Israel on stable terms with all close Arab
neighbors, potentially making it more secure than at
any time in its history.
TEXT: Lastly, the Los Angeles Times goes so far as to
suggest that the broad outlines of an agreement may
have already been secretly agreed to. And it points
out the obvious.
VOICE: To say that making peace is in everyone's
interest is simply to note what has always been true.
The added element this time is an apparent readiness
by Syria and Israel to bargain in good faith on hard
territorial, security and political issues. [Syrian
President] Assad cannot settle for less than regaining
sovereignty over the Golan Heights, lost to Israel in
the 1967 war. [Israeli Prime Minister] Barak must
have the full normalization of relations and the
security guarantees, including demilitarized zones and
listening posts, that would make quitting the Golan
politically acceptable to most Israelis. It may be,
as many in Israel believe, that the broad outlines of
an agreement have already been secretly agreed on,
with the details now to be nail down. If so, a large
step will have been taken toward winning the battle
for peace.
TEXT: With that, we conclude this sampling of
editorial comment from the U-S press on news that
Israel and Syria will resume high-level negotiations
on a peace agreement.
NEB/ANG/KL
10-Dec-1999 13:32 PM EDT (10-Dec-1999 1832 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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