Why Israel Offered The Golan And Why Syria Won't Accept It

Israeli PM Olmert is ready to give away the farm. With only a 3% approval rating in hand, he has offered to give away the strategic Golan Heights for a Syrian promise. This from YNET;

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert recently relayed a secret message to Syrian President Bashar Assad saying Israel knew what the price of peace was and would be willing to pay it, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Friday.

According to the report, Olmert told the Syrian leader Israel would return the Golan in exchange for a comprehensive peace agreement and the severing of Damascus’ alliance with Iran and terror groups in the region.

A senior official in Jerusalem was quoted by the newspaper as saying that Assad has yet to respond to Israel’s offer.

We get two interesting details from INN;

The prime minister told the Syrian president last month that Israel would be willing to withdraw from the Golan Heights if Syria were prepared to make peace, according to the Hebrew newspaper Yediot Aharonot. The Syrian ruler responded positively to the offer, the newspaper stated.

Firstly, the offer was made last month. Secondly, Assad responded positively.
That being the case, Assad is behaving very curiously. If he did “respond positively”, then why did the Syrian Government issue an ultimatum earlier this week? Why is Syria massing troops and heavy equipment along the border? Why did Assad, just last week call for “better cooperation between Tehran and Damascus”?

The answer is obvious. Syria has no intention of breaking ties with their main financier, Iran. Syria is a poor country and can in no way afford to let go of Iran’s petro-euros. Syria has no intention of regaining their lost pride by signing a piece of paper, as worthless as that paper may be. Syria needs to correct the wrongs of 1967. That can only be accomplished by spilling Jewish blood; and lots of it.

Syria has no intention of breaking ties with the terrorist organizations whose activities put Syria front and center in the Middle-East. After all, without terror and without Iranian money and weapons, Syria is a poor man’s Somalia.

Olmert, for his part, is making a huge miscalculation. It can be argued that he is looking to expose Syria and put them in a situation where they must refuse even a most generous offer. Even if this were to be true, you can’t deny the fact that the Olmert proposal is a blatant display of weakness. If push comes to shove and war should break out, there is not much doubt as to who the victor would be. If Olmert was looking to make a stand, all he needed to say to Syria was “go for it”.

Olmert is playing his pair of aces like offsuit 2-7. He is bending over backwards to make it appear that a deal, at any cost, is in the works just to solidify his very shaky political position. Knowing full well that the Arab world views such chatter as weakness, he does not stop his insane outbursts for even a minute’s time.

The final round of the Labor Party primaries are days away. At that time we will know who will lead the call for new elections and the fall of the Olmert government. Olmert learned his lessons from the father of political manipulation, Ariel Sharon. Sharon managed the Gaza disengagement in order to turn the public focus from the many criminal investigations that were hanging over his head. Once the left wing, liberal MSM got wind of major appeasement on the horizon, all of Sharon’s alleged criminal activities were swept under the rug.

Olmert is attempting to do the same. He is trying to hypnotize the media and the public with a Syrian peace deal in order to cover up his alleged criminal activity and very weak political position. In Assad, he found the perfect vehicle.

Olmert shouldn’t offer the Golan and Assad won’t except. The fate of many innocent civilians hangs in the balance of a very dangerous political game. This is the worst time for a man like Olmert to be at the helm. But the again, any time would be a bad time.

Crossposted to Dhimmi Watch

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