Lee Jay Walker Dip BA MA

ISRAEL and SYRIA, how much more can Israel give away?

In the past Israel expanded after she was attacked and old leaders had both guile and a long-term dream, however, recent leaders have been pale in comparison and today Israel is searching for a new direction.  However, she may not have a future direction if this nation keeps on behaving so weak and the current leader, Ehud Olmert, is simply not good enough.  Therefore, will an agreement with Syria pave the way for a new dynamic Israel whereby all her main enemies agree to mutual respect and a genuine peace dividend?  Or will Syria and other nations see this to be another nail in the coffin of Israel?

It is more than apparent that Syria is a key nation for Israel because both nations became involved in a proxy war in Lebanon and clearly Syria won the day in one sense, because Hezbollah remains strong and under the thumb of Syria.  Also, Syria`s armed forces are more potent than any other regional power and if the Golan Heights was breached then Israel would become vulnerable.  Therefore, Syria is a major player throughout this part of the Middle East and no regional power can ignore this nation.

Therefore, if Israel could solve the Golan Heights issue this would enable Israel to solely focus on Hamas and Fatah.  However, if an agreement was made about the Golan Heights then certain factors must be installed within the agreement.  This applies to the rights of Israeli nationals to remain if they desired but under the control of Syria and of course with equal rights within the Syrian constitution.  More important, the military of Syria must not be allowed to enter the Golan Heights unless they have the tacit agreement of Israel.  If Syria did enter this region then a special clause must be entered whereby Israel can "tear up the agreement" and enter the region once more.

However, for Israel they must only do this providing they believe that Syria is sincere and from strength.  Yet the worry is that Israel`s enemies will see this to be a  further weakness and it would mean that more land is handed back but how much more land can Israel give back?  After all, the Sinai was given back to Egypt and recently the West Bank and Gaza have come under Palestinian control.  Despite this, elements within the Palestinian community still desire to destroy Israel and it is clear that you have no peace dividend.

Given this, Israel must enforce major strings to any agreement with Syria and this should apply to Syria dismantling their proxy in Lebanon and this applies to Hezbollah.  If Syria abides by this then at least Israel can feel more secure with regards to her northern border with Lebanon.  Also, the international community should guarantee that they will support Israel if she is ever threatened by more than two nations via a specail agreement which is signed by all the major international players. 

This may be most unlikely, however, Israel needs a genuine peace dividend and they need genuine security.  If the majority of this is not implemented, then Israel is opening up a can of worms and her enemies may use this in order to attack this nation in the future?  Therefore, Israel needs a strong leader to deal with Syria and regional nations.  Also, Israel must be allowed to join all regional bodies and all anti-Israeli policies must be rebuked.  Given this, Syria must not gain at the expense of Israel and instead it must be the final land swap agreement and it must only come via a genuine peace treaty.

Lee Jay Walker Dip BA MA

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