-Caveat Lector- Israeli President: Return Golan .c The Associated Press CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - Israel should return the Golan Heights to Syria, Israeli President Ezer Weizman said in remarks published Saturday. In an interview published in the Arabic daily Al Hayat of London, Weizman was asked if it was necessary for Israel to withdraw from the Golan. Weizman said: ``Yes, ... for the good of Israel, the interest of Israel's economy and our capacity to absorb more immigrants.'' Syria has long demanded a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights, a plateau captured in the 1967 Middle East War. In turn, Israel wants peace with Syria, including open borders and trade. The Israeli presidency is largely a ceremonial post, but Weizman's statements carry great moral weight. He has often irked outgoing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with independent peace initiatives. Weizman also said Israel could not withdraw from Lebanon without an agreement with Syria, the dominant power there. Israeli Prime Minister-elect Ehud Barak has pledged to withdraw Israel's 1,500 troops within 12 months. There are strong hopes in the Arab world that Barak, who defeated the hard-line Netanyahu in last month's elections, will resume peace talks with Syria - suspended since February 1996 - and break the deadlock in the negotiations with the Palestinians. Syria Wants All of Golan Returned DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) - With hopes growing for renewed negotiations, Syria insisted Sunday it could not make peace with Israel without the return of the entire Golan Heights. The election in May of Ehud Barak as Israel's prime minister has raised expectations that long stalled negotiations between Syria and Israel could resume. Barak has expressed a willingness to give back territory in the Golan. Syria long has demanded a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights, a plateau Israel occupied in the 1967 Middle East war and later annexed. ``Our commitment to peace as a strategic option does not mean, in any way, approving a peace that is not based on the full restoration of the occupied Arab lands,'' Syrian parliament speaker Abdul-Kader Kaddoura said at the opening session of a meeting of the Arab Parliamentarian Union. Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi met with his Syrian counterpart Farouq al-Sharaa in Damascus to discuss the Middle East peace process and Friday's airstrikes by Israel against Lebanon. He was expected to deliver a message from Iranian President Mohammad Khatami to President Hafez Assad about the matters. Kharrazi and al-Sharaa condemned the Israeli strikes and expressed support for Lebanese guerrilla groups fighting Israeli troops occupying south Lebanon, the official news agency SANA reported. Syria and Iran both give backing to Shiite Muslim Hezbollah, the main guerrilla group fighting in south Lebanon. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
