[Al Arabiya Latest] Israel is ready to withdraw from areas of the Golan Heights, but it will not give up large parts of the occupied territory in any peace deal with Syria, a top aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday.In an interview that shored up the contradictions in Israel's foreign policies, National Security Adviser Uzi Arad told Israel's Haaretz newspaper the Jewish state plans to withdraw from some areas in the Golan Heights, Syrian land captured in the 1967, but intends to remain in the strategically key areas.
Arad followed his announcement with a demand that as part of a statehood deal that settles the conflict with the Palestinians, Israel should be granted NATO membership.
The consensus in Israel was that it must keep a strong presence in the Golan Heights for "strategic, military and land-settlement reasons," despite Syria's demand for a full Israeli withdrawal as part of a peace deal which includes normalizing ties with Israel.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said last month peace talks could not resume because Israel was not committed to reaching a deal. Turkey has said it was willing to resume mediating the indirect negotiations.