Israel and Syria on Wednesday, May 21, declared that both are engaged in deliberations that could pave the way towards a comprehensive peace treaty through Turkish mediators. This development is an indication that Israel wants to stall the increasing dominance of Syria’s best ally, Iran which supports the anti-Israel groups Hamas and Hazbollah.

 

Important officers of Israel from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s office and their Syrian counterparts gathered at the city of Istanbul in Turkey on Wednesday. But it was since Monday that both the groups had been putting up separately at undisclosed locations here. The Turkish mediators kept shuttling between the two groups. Both Syria and Israel have not deliberated upon such an issue in the past eight years.

 

The intention of Syria participating in this peace talk with Israel is obvious. It has long wanted to recover the Golan Heights captured by Israel in 1967 war and also wants to revive its relation with the United States. Israel, on the other hand, has witnessed the Palestinian group Hamas gain dominance over Gaza and West Bank apart from seeing Lebanese outfit Hezbollah exhibit alarming power in Beirut. As such engaging in peace talks with Syria could help Israel pull it away from Iran which could prove to be of great help.