8 February 2010 / AP, JERUSALEM
Israel’s prime minister attempted to end a war of words with Syria on Sunday, saying his country is open to peace talks with its longtime enemy.
Israeli and Syrian officials have traded threats over the past week, raising concerns of an escalation between two countries that have officially been at war for more than 60 years. Israel desires peace agreements with “all of its neighbors,” Netanyahu told his weekly Cabinet meeting. “We did it with Egypt and Jordan, and we want to achieve similar agreements with the Palestinians and the Syrians,” he said. “I hope that we are on the brink of renewing negotiations with the Palestinians, and we are open to renewing the process with the Syrians as well.” Netanyahu’s comments came after an ominous exchange between officials in the two countries. Syrian President Bashar Assad accused Israel of avoiding peace and his foreign minister threatened that Israeli cities would come under attack in a future war. Israel’s foreign minister responded that Syria would be defeated and Assad and his family would lose power in any future conflict. It has been a quarter-century since Israel and Syria fought directly, but Syria backs anti-Israel forces like the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbullah and the Palestinian Islamic organization Hamas. Israel’s sworn enemy Iran backs Hamas and Hezbullah.
