Syria, Israel work for a settlement for Israel's withdrawal from the Golan

The Israeli daily Jerusalem Post on Monday quoted Alon Ben Meir, a professor based in Washington, as saying that Syria and Israel are working for a settlement on an Israeli withdrawal that takes place on stages from the Golan during a period extending from two years to 30 months.

Ben Meir, who was talking at the Middle East Institute in Washington, stated that he learned from the talks he has held with Syrian and Israeli officials during and after the Shepherdstown talks that the two sides are discussing a withdrawal in three or four stages, in parallel with normalization measures by Syria.

He added that discussing the border issue concentrates on seven to 11 miles and that the Israelis had accepted the international borders, despite the fact this was not stated in the working document.

He added that Syria is persistent that Israel has to withdraw to the line it controlled on the first day of the Six-Day War (the June 1967 war).

He stated that concerning security matters, Syria has lifted its opposition to keeping early warning station of the Hermon mountain as long as US observers will replace Israeli observers.

He indicated that the peace talks might be longer than expected, as both Syria and Israel want to encourage their citizens to show that they are working to solve differences among themselves, adding, "There is an element of theatrics involved."