Barak seeks guarantees concerning the waters of the Golan

A well-informed Israeli source close to Prime Minister Ehud Barak said that Barak seeks to get guarantees that Syria will not transform (change the course of water flow) water sources in the Golan if Israel returns the heights.

The source told the AFP: "Before the 1967 war we had faced problems with Syria, because Syria had been transforming water sources in the Golan," adding that Barak believes that this situation should not be repeated.

Meanhwile, in a statement to the agency, Barak's spokesman, Gadi Baltiansky, said that the questions of borders, the waters and security arrangements are interrelated. However, three rivers flow towards the tributaries of the Jordan's river, which are Banias, al-Dan and al-Hasbani (al-Hasbani springs from Lebanon). All the three rivers ensure 40% of Israel's needs of waters.

AFP explained that the disputes over the waters resulted in an open conflict in the year 1965 when Israel bombarded Syria and accused it of attempting to transfer the course of the Banias river waters.

AFP added that if Syria is able to restore the Golan to the June 4, 1967 borders, it will reach thereby the bank of Tabaraya lake and as a result it can ask for rights to the waters, according to the international law.