Solana Reaffirms EU's Support

By Tzippe Barrow

CBN News - Jerusalem Bureau

March 15, 2007

CBNNews.com - JERUSALEM, Israel - Following a meeting with Syrian President Basher Assad yesterday in Damascus, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana told reporters that the European Union backed Syria's plan to retake the Golan Heights.

"We are interested in working for your country to return to itself the territories that were captured [in the 1967 Six Day War]," he said.

Though Israel was less than overjoyed with his statement, it didn't come as a total surprise. The European Union has long advocated Syria's position in deference to Israel's.

Nonetheless, in light of Syria's overt support of Iran's rearming of Hezbollah, along with ongoing efforts to undermine the Lebanese government, Israel hoped that the EU chief would take up these issues with Assad rather than giving Syria the proverbial pat on the back.

Prior to the 1967 war when the Golan Heights was controlled by Syria, Israeli civilians in the Huleh Valley below lived in the crosshairs of Syrian snipers. Children on kibbutzim often spent the night in bomb shelters.

Repeated requests by Israel to the U.N. to halt the attacks yielded nothing, though any retaliation by Israel was quickly met by U.N. condemnation.

Following the 1967 war, Syria signed a disengagement agreement, leaving the Golan Heights under Israeli sovereignty. Almost 15 years later in December 1981, the Knesset voted to annex the Golan Heights.

Under Israeli sovereignty, the area has flourished. Infrastructure, which was practically non-existent under Syrian control, was added. The local Druze population enjoys the benefits of upgraded utilities, refurbished schools, agricultural improvements, health clinics and a variety of other social security programs.

Wineries, cattle and sheep farms, the Mt. Hermon Ski Resort, 13 nature reserves, hotels, mountain biking and horseback riding facilities, and archaeological sites are among the many attractions welcoming visitors to the area.

Member of Knesset Yisrael Katz (Likud), responding to Solana's remarks, summed up the way most Israelis feel about the Golan.

"There is no chance Israel will retreat from the Golan Heights," he said. "The Golan Heights are an inseparable part of the State of Israel and are essential for its security and defense."

The Golan Heights was called Bashan during biblical times (see Deuteronomy 4:43 and Joshua 21:27), and was given to the tribe of Manasseh (Joshua 13:29-31).

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