Israel-Syria peace
still elusive

May 18, 1996
Web posted at: 1 a.m. EDT (0500 GMT)

From Correspondent Walter Rogers

KUNETTRE, Syria (CNN) -- The Golan Heights has been occupied by Israel since it was captured from Syria in the 1967 war. Now the home of some 13,000 Jews, the strategic area is the main bargaining chip in the stalemated Syrian-Israeli peace negotiations.

The big issue is water. Israelis have become so dependent on Golan water that some Syrians doubt Israel will ever stick to its offer of returning the land in exchange for full peace.

"They on the one hand [say] they want peace, on the other hand they want sophisticated weapons, said Sueil Zahkar, an Arab historian.

The struggle for the Golan has also been the cause of political indoctrination of Syrian children.

This political indoctrination has more to do with restoring lost honor than preparing the next generation for peace with Israel, with which Syria has fought three major wars since Israel's founding in 1948.

"I think it is important to see our land," said Syrian teacher, Yehiya Shayha. "The Israelis take it. This is our land and this is our right to take or bring back our land."

Lessons well learned

Children picnic amid ruins of an entire town dynamited by Israeli soldiers. They are taught that Israel destroyed 244 Arab villages in the Golan, creating 400,000 refugees. The lessons are learned well.

"The Israelis want to take our farms, our land; they want to kill us," said one Syrian boy.

Israeli reluctance to give up listening posts on Mount Hermon from where they spy on the Syrian capital of Damascus adds to Syrian anxieties.

"I feel that my enemy is standing on my head every moment and listening to me, saying 'I am here to kill you,'" said Zahkar.

Israel's April war in Lebanon, in which hundreds of Lebanese civilians were killed, further eroded Syrian support for peace.

"We now feel there are no differences between Shimon Peres or ... Netanyahu in the Israeli elections. Both are for aggression and war," said Mohammed Khair Al-Wadi, a newspaper editor.

High price for peace?

The U.S.-sponsored Syrian-Israeli talks would have required Damascus to give Israel security guarantees and full normalization of relations.

Many Syrians believe Israel is asking too high a price for peace and return of the Golan Heights. Many Syrians believe the Palestinians and the Jordanians got bad deals in which Israel got the chicken and the Arabs were left with the bones.

Still, Syrians believe time is on their side.

Meanwhile, Syrian children dream of planting their country's flag back on the Golan and shout "Arabism, Arabism."

Related stories:

• Talks set on monitoring Lebanon cease-fire - May 8, 1996
• Israeli-Hezbollah conflict throws spotlight on Syria - April 25, 1996
• Efforts intensify to reach Mideast cease-fire - April 23, 1996

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