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In-Depth Coverage

Original Commentaries

07/08/08
Planning the Transition  —Ghaith al-Omari, director of advocacy, American Task Force on Palestine; former foreign policy adviser to Palestinian President Abbas. Original Commentary for Middle East Bulletin.
07/07/08
Moving Forward in Lebanon After Doha: Bridging Deep Divides  —Mona Yacoubian, director of the Lebanon Working Group, U.S. Institute of Peace. Original Commentary for Middle East Bulletin.
06/27/08
Dealing with the Challenge of Prisoners  —Brigadier General (Ret.) Ilan Paz, former head of the Israeli Civil Administration in the West Bank (2002-2005). Interview with Middle East Bulletin.

Setting the Record Straight

Israeli-Syrian Peace Could Alter Regional Dynamic

“I think [the Israelis] are making a mistake trying to negotiate with Syria now, because I don’t think Syria has any independent ability to make decisions. Over the past several years, Syria has become functionally a satellite of Iran, so that if the Israelis really wanted to negotiate with somebody, they ought to be in Tehran, not in Damascus. … I think it will be seen as a mistake in their domestic politics, and it certainly wouldn’t fit my cost-benefit analysis of a fruitful place to have discussions.”
—John Bolton, senior fellow, American Enterprise Institute & former U.S. ambassador to the UN, interview with NationalJournal.com, May 23, 2008 versus
  • "An Israeli-Syrian peace would be based on interests … The first thing the Syrians want is the Golan [Heights], but they want other things too. … Syria wants to be defined differently than Iran and come back to the center of the international system. In terms of Israeli interests, I think the first thing would be no all-out warfare. … In addition, an agreement with Syria would include the larger Arab world and not the Assad government alone. Such an agreement would also undermine Hezbollah, Hamas and extreme Islamist movements. … The United States is needed for addressing the Syrian interests, beyond the Golan, including removal of Syria from the ‘axis of evil’ and economic incentives.”
    —Major General (Ret.) Danny Rothschild, former IDF coordinator of activities in the Palestinian territories (1991-95) & president, Israeli Council for Peace and Security, event ,"Peace with Syria," July 14, 2008 (translated by Middle East Bulletin)

    • Middle East Analysis

    Israel-Syria Negotiations Since the Madrid Conference

    July 25, 2007

    Israel-Syria Negotiations Since the Madrid Conference

    1991-1992     - Following the Madrid Conference, talks between Israeli and Syrian delegations commenced in Washington.

    1994     - Ambassadorial level negotiations in Washington led to the convening of two meetings between the Israeli and Syrian chiefs-of-staff in 1994 and June 1995.

    Dec. 1995-Jan. 1996     - Two rounds of Syrian-Israeli peace talks were conducted under U.S. auspices at the Aspen Institute’s Wye River Conference Center.

    1997-1998     – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Syrian President Hafez al-Assad carried out secret negotiations for 18 months through various mediators, including U.S billionaire Ron Lauder. According to some reports, the sides came close to an agreement. The U.S government was not involved in the negotiations.

    Dec. 1999     - President Clinton announced that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and President Assad agreed to resume negotiations from the point that they were halted since 1996.

    1999-2000     - Talks relaunched in December 1999 at a meeting in Washington with President Clinton, PM Barak and Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk a-Shara, followed by a round of talks in Shepherdstown on January 2000.

    March 2000     – Negotiations end after a Clinton-Assad summit in Geneva failed to bridge differences in Israeli and Syrian positions.

    2004-2006     – According to an Israeli newspaper report, Syrians and Israelis carried out a series of secret meetings in Europe, in which they formulated understandings for a peace agreement. According to the report, senior Syrian officials participated in some of the meetings that were carried with the knowledge of senior Israeli officials.

    July 2007     – President Assad declared that a third country (allegedly Turkey) has recently been trying to bring Israel and Syria closer. Israel confirmed that an attempt to establish such indirect ties took place.