Syrian President Bashar Assad is speaking publicly for the first time about normalization with Israel.
He has told the terror organizations operating out of Damascus to lower their profile and ordered Syrian government spokesmen to moderate their rhetoric, Military Intelligence commander Maj. Gen. Aharon Zeevi-Farkash told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee yesterday. President Moshe Katsav meanwhile renewed his call for Assad to resume peace negotiations with Israel, whether in secret or in public and without prior conditions. In an interview with the Qatar-based Al Jazeera, Katsav said the invitation was aimed at testing Syria’s "true intentions toward peace with Israel."
| I think their true intention is to wiggle out of meeting Israelis face-to-face... |
He said Syria should stop its support of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and other Palestinian militants in Damascus. He also noted Assad had made anti-Semitic remarks in the past and had taken advantage of his relations with Iran to smuggle weapons to Hezbollah. "This casts doubt over Syria’s intentions for peace," he said.
| If he did anything against Hezbollah, he'd stand a good chance of being dead. |
But Ze’evi-Farkash said Assad’s latest remarks, mostly in Western press interviews, but also to visiting U.S. Senator Bill Nelson last week, show he is serious about his intentions and it has already created a "breach" in the "northern wall," meaning the Syrian-Iranian-Hezbollah connection. The country’s top assessor of intelligence said the change in Syrian policy is a result of the war in Iraq, the American threat of economic sanctions, and the vehement Israeli response - the air attack on the terror camp near Damascus - to Syrian involvement in terror against Israel. Describing what he called the "cracking" of the relationship between Syria, Iran and Hezbollah, Ze’evi-Farkash called on the political echelon to exploit the opportunity to further weaken Hezbollah - but he stopped short of calling on the prime minister to respond positively to the Syrian overtures.
| I thought Sharon had, by having Katsav issue the invitation, thereby giving Asshead the chance to make a fool of himself again... |
When the general refused to answer Meretz MK Ran Cohen’s question if he had recommended to Sharon to seek dialogue with Assad, Cohen said, "If you did not recommend that, as the one responsible for the national assessment, you failed. If you recommended it and the prime minister did not accept the recommendation, it’s Sharon’s political and security irresponsibility." Ze’evi-Farkash confirmed the reports of Syrian rescue planes to Iran after the Bam earthquake returning with arms for the Hezbollah. He said those reports "burned some intelligence sources," and decried Israel being "a state of leakers with a culture of leaking." Ze’evi-Farkash explained to the MKs that a weak Syria depends on terror, indeed, "it’s critical" for Assad as a way to wield influence.
| "It ain't like he's driving an economic powerhouse up there..." |
Ze’evi-Farkash turned to the Palestinian front, saying that Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia has effectively relinquished the few powers he held, and that PA Chairman Yasser Arafat was the absolute ruler in the territories. He described the current situation in the PA as "anarchy," adding that Arafat is unwilling to crack down on terror attacks against Israel, is blocking reform of the PA and continues to fund the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades. He also added that Qureia’s policy is one of sustaining the status quo. According to the military intelligence commander, PA Finance Minister Salam Fayyad sends $6-7 million a month to Arafat’s office for its administration. As for the current level of terrorism, the military intelligence commanders said that all the terror groups are organizing to conduct attacks and that the relative quiet is deceptive. Even if Hamas is restraining itself and not conducting attacks inside Israel, there are people pressing for attacks. |