Withdrawal from the Golan rejected, Israeli minister says

Israeli Minister of the Interior Avigdor Kahalani has asserted Israel's rejection of any withdrawal from the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, claiming that the Golan constitutes an Israeli security necessity.

Interviewed by Israeli Army Radio, Kahalani said that both Labor chief Ehud Barak and Premier Benjamin Netanyahu back the Knesset issuing of a decree to immunize what is called the "Golan annexation law."

Kahalani is making his utmost as the Knesset to nullify any previous law so as to obstruct any notion of the "Golan Annexation Law." The Knesset will vote the law next Monday."

Meanwhile, The Syrian daily Tishreen, which represents the governments' position, on Wednesday responded to statements made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his adherence to not withdrawing from the Golan, stressing " Damascus persistence that the Golan will be always an Arab territory and will return back to the home land."

The paper added "If Netanyahu and his extremist team think that through the policy of bargaining the Golan and asserting their perpetuation of its occupation will come back to power in Israel, the thing which is unswerving on the Syrian, Arab and International levels that the Golan was and will be a Syrian Arab and will be eventually returned back to its homeland what so ever the Israeli law will be in this regard."

The paper asserted that " Just peace can only be established in the region through the restoration of the whole Golan." It continued that " Syria has committed itself it will not bargain one grain of the occupied Golan."