A member of the Syrian parliament, Muhammad Habash, confirmed on Tuesday that his country was actively preparing for war with Israel, expected to break out in the summer, Israel Radio reported. In an interview with Al Jazeera, Habash said it was no secret that the Syrian military was arming itself for the upcoming confrontation with the IDF. He also claimed that the Israeli government was the one that wanted the war so that it could survive politically. Meanwhile, Pensioners Affairs Minister Rafi Eitan (GIL Pensioners) said on Tuesday that in negotiations with Syria, Israel must relate to the matter of the Golan Heights as a real estate issue. "Negotiations need to be about the property value," he said.
National Infrastructures Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer (Labor), said he believed Prime Minister Ehud Olmert should respond positively to any offer of peace talks from Syrian President Bashar Assad. However, Shas ministers Eli Yishai and Yitzhak Cohen insisted that the Syrians must take steps to show their intentions were serious before Israel negotiated with them. On Wednesday, the Security Cabinet was set to discuss the question of whether to examine the option of talks with Damascus.