Knesset member Bishara's visit to Syria

Israeli Army radio has made a telephone call with Palestinian intellectual Azmi Bishara, who is also a member of the Israeli Knesset and currently visiting Syria, in which he said that he had not received any message from Israeli officials to deliver to Syrian President Hafez al-Assad.

Bishara said "During my three-day stay in Damascus I did not receive such a message." He added "I hear a statement made by Netanyahu in which he said that Syria has to come to negotiation without any preconditions. It is very regrettable that Netanyahu will make a statement as such, as Netanyahu wants Syria to come to the negotiations without any preconditions while there was in Israel a former government which concluded with Syria certain agreements and Netanyahu is a constitutional continuity of the previous government." Bishara added that despite this fact, Netanyahu calls for returning to the zero point and asks Syria to join the negotiations with no conditions.

Replying to a proposal by the anchor who interviewed Bishara in that "as an Israeli Bishara is to recommend President al-Assad to do what had been done by Sadat, noting that the Israelis will change their stand at 180 degree, especially when al-Assad announces his consent to visit Jerusalem," Bishara said, "I think that many of the Americans who met with President al-Assad made such a proposal, and I think it is not in President al-Assad's foreign policy." Bishara continued, "A mere meeting between President al-Assad and Netanyahu will come only after all matters have been agreed upon, clearly."

Bishara went on concerning Sadat's visit to Jerusalem that there are two matters which are now not available, firstly, "Egypt was the first and greater Arab country which started the process, and secondly when Sadat came to Jerusalem everything was clear." He added that Sadat "adopted the Syrian position and supports it on the need of Israel's withdrawal to June 4, 1967 border line."

Bishara continued, "I do not recommend that the Syrians give up this stand because it is fair and just."

The anchor interrupted Bishara saying, "The Syrian territories were not occupied in 1967, but the problem does not lie in the principle of land-for-peace. It, rather is related to the fact that President al-Assad does not want to see Israel as a fact established in the Middle East."

Bishara commented, "The Syrians say that Israel before 1967 planned and worked to occupy the Golan. They [the Syrians] today say that peace is a strategic option and speak of a full and comprehensive peace as well as security arrangements, thereby a full peace."