[Iran Press TV Latest] The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly expressed willingness to withdraw from the Golan Heights as part of a 'peace deal' with Syria. In a 'relayed message' to Syrian President Bashar Assad through the French President Nicholas Sarkozy, Netanyahu said that "We have accepted the principle of withdrawing from the Golan; let's discuss the details," the Saudi-owned Arabic-language satellite TV channel, Al-Arabiya, reported on Thursday.
The Al-Arabiya report highlighted that France and Israel agreed not to reveal the content of the message, which was coordinated with Washington, until it is relayed to Assad during his expected meeting with Sarkozy in Paris on Friday.
The Israeli Prime Minister's Office on Thursday denied the report. "The Al-Arabiya report has nothing to do with reality. Nothing of this kind ever happened," said Netanyahu's office, in a response.
However, a senior political source in Jerusalem on Thursday said that Netanyahu is considering French mediation for talks with Syria because of Sarkozy's close ties to both him and Assad.
On Wednesday, Netanyahu said that Israel would be prepared to hold immediate peace negotiations with Syria, as long as the talks were held without preconditions. Netanyahu made the remarks in a meeting with French counterpart, Sarkozy, in the Elysée Palace.
Netanyahu's declaration regarding Syria came hours after Assad said he would not set any preconditions for peace negotiations with Israel.
"Resistance to Israeli occupation has been at the core of our policy in the past and in future. We do not put forward conditions to achieve peace. We nonetheless do have rights that will not abandon," Assad said in a speech opening the fifth Conference of the Arab Parties entitled 'The Independent Arab Decision' in Damascus.