Assad Lays Out Terms
CBNNews.com
July 17, 2007
CBNNews.com - DAMASCUS, Syria - Syrian President Bashar Assad marked his installation to a second term in office by speaking at length about peace negotiations with Israel.
Before any discussions about peace can begin, said Assad, Israel must return the Golan Heights, captured during the 1967 Six Day War and annexed to Israel in 1981.
Assad said he was ready to talk openly with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, but clandestine efforts by Israel wouldn't yield anything substantive.
"I see Syria facing a new stage, strong and confident. I promise you the Golan will return to the homeland," he said.
While Assad condemned U.S. efforts to isolate Damascus as a sponsor of terrorism, he said Syria would continue actively supporting Hezbollah and other terror groups.
Facts about the Golan Heights
Prior to 1967, Syrian snipers took daily pot shots at Israeli families in the Hula Valley below. The situation was so bad that children slept in bunkers to be safe from Syrian bullets.
When the Golan Heights came under Israeli sovereignty, not only did the sniper fire stop, but Israelis developed the 250,000 acres, including the almost nonexistent infrastructure in the area.
Today, the Golan Heights is home to 32 thriving Jewish communities, as well as Druze and Israeli Arab villages.
The Golan boasts 4,000 acres of orchards, 5,000 acres of cultivated crops, dairy farms, cattle and sheep farms, wineries and nurseries and the Mt. Hermon ski resort.
Another little known fact is that the Golan has been under Israeli sovereignty longer than it was under Syrian sovereignty.
Sources: YNet, Haaretz
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