Israelis favour giving up Golan for peace
JERUSALEM: The majority of Jewish Israelis favour giving up the much
contested Golan Heights for full peace with Syria and a withdrawal from
Lebanon, reflecting a deep yearning to give peace in the West Asia a chance,
according to a new poll.
With political negotiations showing positive signs and Israeli cabinet
deciding to end the long occupation of southern Lebanon by July, six out of
10 Jewish Israelis would prefer giving up the Golan Heights and accepting
evacuation of all Jewish settlements there in return for full peace with
neighbouring Syria, the poll by the Jaffee Centre for Strategic Studies at
Tel Aviv University has revealed.
The findings, considered remarkable because in the past Golan Heights had
been considered non-negotiable property by most respondents, also reveal
that nine out of 10 Jewish Israelis feel that a referendum for a peace
treaty would be accepted by a majority of the Jews.
In the mid-1980s over 80 per cent opposed giving up the golan for peace and
10 years later, during the previous round of peace negotiations, half
rejected the idea of returning any of the Golan, English daily Jerusalem
Post said.
Political analysts say security issues appear to be more important for
people than other matters and that in the past two years the opposition to
returning the Golan Heights has considerably diminished in the Jewish state.
They said the public was fed of conflicts and has been yearning for peace
and felt that there was a historic opportunity to give peace a chance.
The poll, part of the annual public opinion survey on security issues shows
that 31 per cent respondents are against returning any part of the Golan and
evacuating settlements.
The poll also questioned the readiness to support a unilateral withdrawal
from Lebanon and found that 61 per cent support it, compared to 55 per cent
in 1999 and only 44 per cent in 1998.
Meanwhile, top Israeli and Palestinian negotiators met for the first time in
over a month to discuss overdue aspects of the peace process as Israel
beefed up security for fear of terror attacks aimed to derail the
negotiations.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat
officially resumed the peace talks this week with three meetings including a
summit with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Thursday.
Arafat and Barak agreed that Israel will in the coming days implement
overdue aspects of interim agreements including a withdrawal from 6.1 per
cent of the West Bank, which had been slated for January 20.
In addition, Israel will release Palestinian prisoners accused of
anti-Israeli activity and open a route for Palestinians to travel between
the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said.
(Agencies)
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