[ April 24, 2024 ]
When the U.A.E. normalized relations with Israel, and then Bahrain followed suit, among those Arab leaders who remained silent was Bashar al-Assad. His silence was interpreted as possibly indicating that he was mulling over the possibility of doing something similar. He might, after all, be thinking that at least entering peace talks with Israel, if not normalizing relations with it, would be one way to persuade Washington to remove economic sanctions on Syria and its ruling elite. On the other hand, were he to make any move toward recognizing Israel Assad would surely incur the wrath of both Iran and Hezbollah, that have helped him so much during the Syrian civil war. Decisions, decisions. What’s a poor, mass-murdering dictator to do? The latest on Bashar’s demands is here.
Syrian President Bashar Assad said in an interview with Russian state news Thursday that peace talks with Israel would only take place if the Israelis return the Golan Heights to Syrian control.
In the interview, Assad said that Syria would hold peace talks with Israel only when the Jewish state was ready “to return the occupied Syrian land.”…
Story continues below advertisementAssad’s statements seemingly came in response to recent speculation that Syria is interested in negotiations with Israel in order to alleviate crushing economic sanctions imposed by the United States.
The report by Ibrahim Hamidi, a senior diplomatic editor at the Asharq al-Awsat newspaper and an expert in Syrian affairs, speculated that Syria’s silence on the recent normalization accords between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, along with a delivery of humanitarian aid from the UAE, indicated Syria was interested in coming to the table in order to appease the Americans.
Ibrahim Hamidi gave Assad too much credit for realism. Assad’s imagination has run away with him. He still thinks there is a chance – even a good chance — that Israel would give up the Golan Heights in exchange for Syria agreeing to “talk” with the Jewish state. But Israel will never surrender the Golan, not for talks, not for a peace treaty, not for full normalization of relations. Israel annexed the Golan Heights, made it part of Israel, nearly forty years ago, in 1981. Israelis disagree on many territorial issues – whether or not all, or part, or none, of the West Bank should be given up to the Palestinian Arabs – but there is no disagreement, none, on the Golan Heights. Israelis remember how, from the Golan, that loomed high above Israeli farms and villages far below, the Syrians would rain down fire on Israel civilians. Not even the far-left Meretz Party would give up the Golan. As Prime Minister Netanyahu said in 2016, the Golan Heights is an integral part of Israel. Giving any of it back to Syria “will never happen.”
Asked about normalization with Israel, Assad said that normalization is possible “only when we can reclaim our land, it is very simple,” he said.
Assad also emphasized in the interview that Syria was not negotiating with Israel….
Those talks failed because Hafez Assad continued to insist, as his son now does, on a return of the Golan Heights. Israel offered then, and offers now (see the U.A.E., see Bahrain) “peace for peace,” not ”land for peace.” No peace agreement could enhance Israel’s security vis-à-vis Syria as much as its continued possession of the Golan Heights.
Israel has no need of recognition by, or normalization of ties with, Syria. Unlike the U.A.E., which has billions to invest in Israel, and offers enormous possibilities for cooperative ventures with Israelis — in high tech, solar energy, agriculture, cybersecurity, trade, tourism — Syria is now, and will be for decades to come, an economic basket case. Five million Syrians have fled the country, six million are internally displaced. There is hardly a city or a village in the country that has not suffered catastrophic damage that brings to mind how German cities looked in 1945. Merely to put Syria back into something like the condition it was in just before the civil war began in 2011, would cost at least $350 billion.
The Israelis have been striking Iranian and Hezbollah bases in Syria at will. Hundreds of devastating strikes have been carried out with the loss of only one Israeli plane, an F-16 shot down on February 10, 2018 (the plane crashed inside Israel, the pilot survived). The Syrian military have been so degraded by the civil war, with 130,000 Syrian soldiers killed, and 3,000 armored vehicles destroyed (analysts offer this as a low estimate), and 125 planes destroyed, that they are no longer a military threat to Israel. What worries Israel is not the Syrian military itself, but the possibility of Iran establishing bases in Syria, and transferring precision-guided missiles to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Assad’s dreamy belief that Israel might ever contemplate handing back the Golan Heights testifies to his miscomprehension of the real situation. That horse left the barn nearly forty years ago, when Israel passed the Golan Heights Law making that captured territory part of Israel – as much a part as Tel Aviv or Haifa. There is no going back. On the other hand, making peace with Israel could provide Syria with tangible benefits. Israel would be willing, in exchange for normalization of relations, to engage in collaborative efforts with Syrians in some of the same areas in which it has undertaken to cooperate with the U.A.E. (and, to a lesser degree, with Bahrain). These areas would include high tech of all kinds, solar energy, agriculture (including advanced methods of drip irrigation), electric vehicles, medical equipment, even tourism. Could Assad ever be able to shake off his mind-forged manacles, abandon his preposterous demand for Israel to give back the Golan, and come to the table with Israel, willing to deal for the sake of his country? So far, the answer is No.
The Truth Must be Told
Your contribution supports independent journalism
Please take a moment to consider this. Now, more than ever, people are reading Geller Report for news they won't get anywhere else. But advertising revenues have all but disappeared. Google Adsense is the online advertising monopoly and they have banned us. Social media giants like Facebook and Twitter have blocked and shadow-banned our accounts. But we won't put up a paywall. Because never has the free world needed independent journalism more.
Everyone who reads our reporting knows the Geller Report covers the news the media won't. We cannot do our ground-breaking report without your support. We must continue to report on the global jihad and the left's war on freedom. Our readers’ contributions make that possible.
Geller Report's independent, investigative journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we believe our work is critical in the fight for freedom and because it is your fight, too.
Please contribute here.
or
Make a monthly commitment to support The Geller Report – choose the option that suits you best.
Quick note: We cannot do this without your support. Fact. Our work is made possible by you and only you. We receive no grants, government handouts, or major funding.Tech giants are shutting us down. You know this. Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Adsense, Pinterest permanently banned us. Facebook, Google search et al have shadow-banned, suspended and deleted us from your news feeds. They are disappearing us. But we are here.
Subscribe to Geller Report newsletter here— it’s free and it’s essential NOW when informed decision making and opinion is essential to America's survival. Share our posts on your social channels and with your email contacts. Fight the great fight.
Follow Pamela Geller on Gettr. I am there. click here.
Follow Pamela Geller on Trump's social media platform, Truth Social. It's open and free.
Remember, YOU make the work possible. If you can, please contribute to Geller Report.
Join The Conversation. Leave a Comment.
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spammy or unhelpful, click the - symbol under the comment to let us know. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.
If you would like to join the conversation, but don't have an account, you can sign up for one right here.
If you are having problems leaving a comment, it's likely because you are using an ad blocker, something that break ads, of course, but also breaks the comments section of our site. If you are using an ad blocker, and would like to share your thoughts, please disable your ad blocker. We look forward to seeing your comments below.
44 Comments
3 years ago
The whole idea of trusting Syria with the Golan Hts. is insane. The Syrian muslums have invaded Israel not once, not twice, but THREE times. And really who cares what Assad thinks, says or does? He’s an impotent muslum dictator ruling over a third world hellhole and now that his Russian backers are no longer providing him with free military equipment his threats against Israel are nothing but impotent saber rattling.
3 years ago
Ummm……….no.
3 years ago
Assad is the biggest loser in the middle East. A dictator who slaughters his own people with poison gas is not someone you trust. There may be a drone strike in his future.
3 years ago
Ya. that’ll work knowing the high degree of trust Israel has in the biggest loser in the Middle East.
3 years ago
Land for talk? If the talks fail (a certainty) is the land given back? Is it the arab zeitgeist or the moslem zeitgeist?
3 years ago
The ONLY thing Assad is mulling over is HOW HE CAN GET AWAY WITH GAS POISONING MORE OF HIS PEOPLE.
Evil people DO NOT JUST BECOME NICE. THERE IS ALWAYS AN ULTERIOR MOTIVE BEHIND THEIR EVIL.
3 years ago
Giving back the Golam Heights would be even dumber for Israelis than giving the Iranian Mullahs access to our nuclear football.
It is the quintessential description of “suicide.”
3 years ago
Reply to
Tasmanian Devil
The scary part is if Ganz takes over the government, he would be willing to do it.
3 years ago
He seems trustworthy. I say “go for it…”
3 years ago
Reply to
Mr Proton
Yeah,
At least its worth a try, right? (that is, when other peoples lives are at stake).
3 years ago
Reply to
Mr Proton
The mustache… that hand salute… where have I seen those before…??? Hmmmm….
3 years ago
Reply to
Mr Proton
If Israel relinquishes the Golan Heights they will just be giving hostile Arab nations the high ground from which to attack Israel. Let Syria negotiate a peace first and then they can consider negotiating the return of any land.
3 years ago
Well I think Israel should return the Golan, as a good will gesture. However, first Syria needs to bring back to life those Israelis- er Jews- who their army murdered by lobbing artillery shells into the Hula Valley when they controlled the Heights.
Now this would be quite a concession for Israel to make. After all, based on the Mandate for Palestine, Israel has a legal claim to at least part of the Golan. Given that three generations of Assads have been murderous dictators in Syria, even the non-Israelis living there might have second thoughts about being under Syrian control.
Syrians have suffered horrendously under the Assads. Why ole grandpa Assad- the Butcher of Homs- who murdered 20,000 in that restive area, was a mere piker compared with Bashir and his half-million or so. Meanwhile, per JVL (Ref 1) has this to say:
There are approximately 22,000 Arabs, including at least 17,000 Druze, living in the Golan Heights today. In contrast to 1948-1967, when civilian infrastructure and services were almost completely neglected by successive Syrian governments, Israel has invested substantial sums in either installing or upgrading electric and water systems, in agricultural improvements and job training, and in building health clinics, where none had existed previously. The inhabitants also enjoy the benefits of Israel’s welfare and social security programs. Israel has built or refurbished schools and classrooms, extended compulsory education from seven years to ten, and made secondary education available to girls for the first time. The Golan’s Druze residents enjoy complete freedom of worship; the Israeli authorities have made financial contributions and tax and customs rebates to the local religious establishments.
Remind me, again, why Israel should give up this strategic high ground, for which they fought so valiantly and to which they have a valid claim under international law, to be bunch of thugs.
1. https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/history-and-overview-of-the-golan-heights
3 years ago
Reply to
MuhamMUDTheFakeProphet
But what about “international law”?
I addressed international law:
After all, based on the Mandate for Palestine, Israel has a legal claim to at least part of the Golan.
With respect to the borders of Palestine (a.k.a. Israel), the Mandate is the operational international law. In fact, for most of the countries carved out of the Ottoman Empire, the various Mandates set the borders. But I guess you are too ignorant to know that, goon.
3 years ago
Reply to
Liatris Spicata
What amorphous “international law” are you referring to again? Who sets “international law” worm? The OIC? Or their lapdogs in the UN? Or the ones that allow f’ing Azerbaijani muslums to butcher Aremenians in Artsakh?
3 years ago
Reply to
MuhamMUDTheFakeProphet
As usual Charlie Seattle backs his muslum loving boyfriend. Why don’t you pair of f*ckers get a hotel room in Artsakh so you can watch the f’ing muslums persecute and butcher Armenians? Maybe you can buy some Armenian slave girls at cut-rate prices?
https://www.nairaland.com/3145914/picture-day-1915-crucifixion-armenian/2
3 years ago
Assad,…. Your Answer coming soon ………….. lame duck? 
3 years ago
If your father didn’t invade in the first place you would still have the Golan Heights. So kindly suck it.
3 years ago
Reply to
tn_tea _ partyer_420
Point well taken, but it was his grandfather, serving as Defense Minister at the time. Although Israel had ample casus belli, as Syria had been attacking them for years, Israel attacked Syria in June 1967.
3 years ago
Reply to
Liatris Spicata
Point taken. There is enough historical and anthropological evidence to support the claim that Jews have been inhabitanting the area we now call Israel for at least 3000 years. The Palestinian issue is raised it head in the late 19th century through the end of WW1 and the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Great Britain screwed up the middle east that we have today over 100 years ago. I’m sorry it can’t be fixed in 21st century. Sadly that’s why the Palestinian leadership call for the destruction of Israel.
Its fucked up and won’t get fixed any time soon.
3 years ago
Reply to
Liatris Spicata
Syria had been using the Golan Hts. as an artillery position to shell civilians in Northern Israel, which it did without cause or provocation. Syria also allowed muslum terrorists to attack Israel from Syrian terrortory. Israel responded to these attacks. Israel did not initiate hostilities with Syria it responded to them. Seizing control of the Golan Hts. is what finally ended Syrian artillery fire into Northern Israel. My source for this information is the Arab-Israeli Wars by General Chaim Herzog who was serving with the IDF at the time.
3 years ago
I agree with him. Why try to team up with Israel when the Palestinians are totally available? 😛
3 years ago
Absolutely no talks, not even same building until Syrians agree to return Palmyra. An ancient Jewish town they have squatted and occupied. Oh yes, and Lebanon up to Litani river. Present squatters can relocate into Damascus. Was Tibet once Jewish? Surely. Free Jewish Tibet. And Berlin too for that matter.
3 years ago
You lose a war, you lose territory, Muslims have never kept any promise of land for peace.
3 years ago
Reply to
cylde
Every single time they have rejected land for peace.
They want Israel totally destroyed.
3 years ago
Damascus in Syria has had its wars and battles and always managed to rebuild itself. It has never been totally destroyed or beyond being rebuilt. Some historians believe it is one of the oldest inhabitable cities in the world.
Syria has been siding with Iran and Russia. “The Hebrew prophet Ezekiel wrote over 2,000 years ago that in the ‘last days’ of history, Russia and Iran will form a military alliance to attack Israel from the north,” Joel Rosenberg wrote. Bible scholars refer to this eschatological conflict, described in Ezekiel 38–39. Isaiah 17:1-3 and Jeremiah 49:23–27 have a lot to say about that too.
One thing you can be sure of, is there will never be long lasting permanent peace in Israel. Watch for a seven year peace agreement to be a false one. It shouldn’t be too long from now that it happens….
3 years ago
Like that’s gonna happen. Israel isn’t giving that SOB anything but ulcers.
3 years ago
I can’t tell if he’s got a really huge neck or a very small head.
3 years ago
Assad looks like Hitler and sounds just like Hitler.
Assad is evil. Look what he did to his own people as proof he is evil.
Assad is a doctor and understands that people feel pain and yet he inflicted horrific acts of cruelty and murdered his own people.
Is his wife still alive? Has anyone heard from her lately?
Don’t ever trust this monster named Assad.
3 years ago
….uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, no!
3 years ago
It would be suicidal for Israel to do that and they shouldn’t for other reasons. It belongs to Israel.
3 years ago
Reply to
felix1999
It belongs to ALMIGHTY GOD!! And the 2 previous Prime Ministers were struck down when they divided the land! Netanyahu KNOWS that and is fearing assassination BECAUSE of the “DEAL OF THE CENTURY”… he is definitely at peril!! And Jared Kushner is a supid Jew who knows NOTHING about Torah!! God FORBIDS His land to be divided and everyone who has done it, has DIED because of it.
3 years ago
Reply to
felix1999
It belongs to ALMIGHTY GOD!! And the 2 previous Prime Ministers were struck down when they divided the land! Netanyahu KNOWS that and is fearing assassination BECAUSE of the “DEAL OF THE CENTURY”… he is definitely at peril!! And Jared Kushner is a supid Jew who knows NOTHING about Torah!! God FORBIDS His land to be divided and everyone who has done it, has DIED because of it.
3 years ago
What Israel should really do is call the tinpot muslum dictator’s bluff. If he doesn’t want peace with Israel, Israel should invade his muslum sh!tehole state reduce his cities and military to rubble drag his a$$ out of whatever Fuhrer bunker he lays up in and execute him. If the IAF had BUFF’s I’d say just carpet bomb Syria back into the dark ages — which is where the f’ing muslum vermin belong anyway.
3 years ago
Bashar Assad: the Israeli government will give due consideration to your idea were you to offer at least $1 billion dollars to every Israeli family who had a relative killed by Syrian, Hezbollah and all other terror groups and individual terrorists that have operated in your country since 1948…..
3 years ago
Never trust a Muslim.
3 years ago
Israel will be foolish to give the Golan Heights to Assad. What Israel needs to give him is a warning to stop his madness or risk the wrath of God turning g his country into glass.
3 years ago
They know Biden is weak and hates Israel. If this snake actually slithers into the WH, we will live to see the day that the US sides with Iran against Israel. That will be a sad day.
3 years ago
Reply to
Mdog
That won’t happen, but if Biden does get into the Oval Office, he will quickly be replaced by Camel Harris and America WILL COLLAPSE!
3 years ago
Assad needs a beard. I’ll be like his version of that little girl who wrote to Lincoln and recommend the same to him. Assad would not have had the problems he had if he had a beard. That would’ve made him look a little tougher and take attention away from his long neck and flabby cheeks and retreating chin.
