The strategic studies center on Syria and Israel
Syria-Israel, Politics, 5/17/2001

The International Center for Strategic Studies which takes London as a headquarters said that there will be no nearby resumption of the negotiations between Syria and Israel because of the rejection of Sharon to return back the Golan Heights which Israel had occupied in June war of 1967 and then annexed to it.

News reports quoted the center's annual report which was circulated on Wednesday as saying that the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad who succeeded his father, the late Syrian President Hafez al-Assad who died in June, 2000 is concentrating on fostering his position in the authority and will not make non- useful adventures, like getting into serious dialogue with the Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon.

The report expected, according to that, that the borders between Israel and Syria will stay calm, but he fears, on the other hand, that tension will be escalated in Lebanon because of the disputes over the Shebaa farms. The region of a total area of 20 square kilometers and is situated at a border triangle between Syria, Lebanon and Israel, occupied by the Israeli army from the Syrian army in 1967 and Beirut is demanding to get back these territories, while the Lebanese Hizbullah party vows to continue resistance operation against the Israeli army until the restoration of these farms.

On the question of the Syrian military presence in Lebanon, which has become an issue of differences in the Lebanese political circles recently, the center said that number of the Syrian troopers in Lebanon reduced in the two recent years to 20,000 after it war 40,000 by the beginning of the 1990s.

But the report sees that the possibilities of Syria's withdrawal from Lebanon is very small before reaching a comprehensive peace between Syria and Israel and if this happens, political and economic relations will be stronger than to permit relations broken between the two sides.

Lastly, the report said about Iraq that the policy of containment is still the only workable choice towards Baghdad, but it despite of that encourages the US to re-study the file of sanctions against Baghdad.

Previous Stories:
  Israel threatens Syria   (5/16/2001)
  An explosive went off in a restaurant for Israeli soldiers in the Golan   (5/15/2001)
  Israeli fears of increased popularity of President Bashar al-Assad   (5/12/2001)

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