T. Belman. Maybe its time for Israel to support the rebels in exchange for the rebels support of Israel. Such support would enable the rebels to extend their control over much of the land bordering the demilitarized zone.
The Israeli cabinet holds its weekly session Sunday April 17, on the Golan. Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu will visit Moscow on Thursday, April 21 to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and to launch the most important battle of his political career, and one of Israel’s most decisive contests of the last 10 years: the battle over the future of the Golan Heights.
DEBKAfile’s intelligence sources and its sources in Moscow report exclusively that Israel’s top political leaders and military commanders were stunned and shocked last weekend when they found out that US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed to support the return of the Golan to Syria. The two presidents gave their top diplomats, Secretary of State John Kerry and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the green light to include such a clause in a proposal being drafted at the Geneva conference on ending the Syrian civil war.
Israel captured the Golan from the Syrian army 49 years ago, during the Six-Day War in 1967 after the Syrian army invaded Israel.
In 1981, during the tenure of then Prime Minister Menachem Begin, Israel passed a law defining the Golan as a territory under Israeli sovereignty. However, it did not state that the area belongs to Israel.
While Israel was preparing for a diplomatic battle over the future of Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, Obama and Putin decided to deal a diplomatic blow to Israel and Netanyahu’s government on an unexpected issue, the Golan.
It is part of an endeavor by the two powers to use their diplomatic and military cooperation regarding Syria to impose agreements on neighboring countries, such as Israel, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
For example, Washington and Moscow are trying to impose an agreement regarding the granting of independence to Syrian Kurds, despite Ankara’s adamant opposition. The two presidents are also pressuring Riyadh and Amman to accept the continuation of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s rule, at least for the immediate future.
DEBKAfile’s sources report that just like the other diplomatic or military steps initiated by Obama and Putin in Syria, such as those for Assad’s eventual removal from power, the two powers see a resolution of the Golan issue as a gradual process that may take a long time, perhaps even years. But as far as they are concerned, Israel will have to withdraw from the Golan at the end of that process.
It should be noted that Prime Minister Netanyahu is not traveling to Washington to discuss the Golan issue with Obama. The frequent trips by the prime minister, senior officials and top IDF brass to Moscow in recent months show where the winds are blowing in the Middle East.
However, Moscow is not Washington, and Israel has no lobby in the Russian capital defending its interests.
It should be made very clear that the frequent trips by senior Israeli officials to Moscow have not created an Israeli policy that can influence Putin or other senior members of the Russian leadership. Putin has made occasional concessions to Israel on matters of minimal strategic importance, but on diplomatic and military steps regarding Syria and Iran he has shown little consideration of Jerusalem’s stance.
It should also be noted that there has been no basis for the enthusiasm over the Russian intervention in Syria shown by Netanyahu, Israeli ministers and senior IDF officers.
All of the calls by a number of Russia experts, mainly those of DEBKAfile, for extreme caution in ties with Putin have fallen on deaf ears among the political leadership in Jerusalem and the IDF command in Tel Aviv.
Amid these developments, three regional actors are very pleased by Washington and Moscow’s agreement to demand Israeli withdrawal from the Golan: Syrian President Assad, the Iranian leadership in Tehran and Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Now, they do not need to risk a military confrontation with Israel over the Golan because Obama and Putin have essentially agreed to do the dirty work for them.
This is a message that needs to be passed on to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before he meets with Vladimir Putin. To remind the Russian leader that he annexed The Crimean Peninsula for the strategic interest of Russia and the world community barely raised a finger. Israel has the same rights to protect its strategic interest when it comes to the Golan Heights, which long ago was an inherent part of the Land of Israel. the dozens of ancient synagogues in the area around the Golan Heights attest to this fact. (What is good for the goose is good for the gander). Russia voted at the UN for the establishment of the Israeli Jewish state in 1948.
It certainly cannot afford acting politically today in a manner that would result in Israel’s demise.
@ JoeBillScott:
Russia has been an Iranian Ally for 50+ years. Just because Putin has made some stands against the western “Gay agenda” to appease his eastern Orthodox base doesn’t mean he’s not still an authoritarian despot with aspirations of regaining superpower status. And Obama surrendering influence in the middle east to Russia is not good for Israel. eastern Orthodox are after all replacement theologians who View Israels existence in the middle east as the source of the problem. Still Roman Catholics after all. You’re also ignoring the huge portion of the Russian population that happens to be Muslim Putin has to appease.
@ lsatenstein:
This is the new bargaining position of Kerry and hence Obama, et al.
Putin has no interest in an Israeli withdrawal from the stable Golan. But Hizballa, Iran and Obama do.
See if you can keep up. Obama is not on our side here in Israel.
Did the pullback information come from officials in the USA which stated, (signed proof) that it is the USA’s foreign policy? Remember, foreign policy does not come from one man, but from an Administration.
Putin would not make comments. He believes in the expression “Lose lips sink ships”.
Rumors are best quashed early, least the Rumors become repeated as facts.
Strong action instead of whining about being pressured.
I like it.
Given the capitulation in Area A it seems extremely unlikely.
But we can always hope.
There’s no “dirty work” being done. These are just Obama’s daydreams. Putin’s name was placed on it for Obama to avert some blame but you should know full well that this is solely Obama’s fantasy.
He will continue to do the bidding of his ally Iran until his last breath. Just wait. You ain’t seen nothin’ yet!