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December 4, 1998/ 15 Kislev 5759, Vol. 51, No. 11
Deaths spur re-thinking of policy
DAVID LANDAU
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
JERUSALEM - The deaths of seven Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon during the past two weeks have reawakened a long-standing debate about whether Israel should withdraw from the region. Intimately linked to this debate is the question of how to deal with Syria, which, with tens of thousands of soldiers in Lebanon, is the undisputed power broker there.
Indeed, whenever the fighting heats up in southern Lebanon, political analysts shift their gaze toward Syrian President Hafez Assad, who allows the shipment of armaments from Iran through Syria to their ultimate destination - the Hezbollah gunmen who are trying to drive Israeli troops out of its 9-mile-wide security zone carved out of southern Lebanon.
In the wake of the Israeli deaths - caused by what has become Hezbollah's most effective weapon, roadside bombs - demonstrations took place outside the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem and outside the army high command in Tel Aviv demanding that Israel withdraw from the Lebanese quagmire. Israel's ministers and generals were meanwhile grappling with the same problem that has occupied them for years: After Israel established the security zone more than a decade ago, when would the proper time come to leave?
Defenders of Israel's presence in Lebanon say it is necessary to protect Israel's northern communities until comprehensive agreements are reached with Syria and Lebanon. Critics of the policy have argued that it only leads to more casualties.
"It isn't a security zone," Labor Knesset member Yossi Beilin declared in the legislature on Monday, Nov. 29. "It's a death trap."
While Beilin's remarks prompted a sharp rebuke from Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai, Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon, with an eye toward possible talks with Syria, took the lead in the Cabinet this week advocating for a phased, unilateral withdrawal. According to reliable sources here and abroad, there are indications that Assad wants to resume negotiations with Israel, which were suspended in March 1996.
Seasoned observers had predicted a reawakening of Syrian interest in peace diplomacy after Israel and the Palestinian Authority signed the Wye agreement in late October that resulted in the transfer of more West Bank land to Palestinian control. They have long suggested that any progress on the Palestinian track would prompt Syria's return to the negotiating table.
On Nov. 30, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied reports that he had received a message from Assad urging resumption of the talks. But informed sources insist there has been significant diplomatic traffic - not in the form of a direct message to the premier, but in signals conveyed through intermediaries.
Most experts, both here and abroad, maintain that Israel's problems in southern Lebanon are inextricably linked to the Golan Heights, which Syria demands as part of any peace accord with Israel. They say that the Syrian presence in Lebanon - and Syrian domination of Lebanese politics - means that Israel must deal with Damascus if it hopes to extricate itself from southern Lebanon.
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