Israel would be able to defend itself should it return the strategic Golan Heights plateau to Syria in any peace accord with Damascus, the outgoing army chief of staff said in comments published on May 31.
Asked whether he believed Israel could defend itself if the Golan, which Israel seized in the 1967 Middle East war, was handed over to Syria, Moshe Yaalon told the pan-Arab Asharq Al Awsat newspaper: "Yes, that is correct".
"But I insist on the word 'peace' and the need for a serious Syrian leadership in the peace process," he added in a rare interview given to an Arabic-language newspaper. He is to leave office on Wednesday.
Damascus is under huge international pressure over its alleged support for insurgents fighting in Iraq, Palestinian armed groups and the Lebanese-based Hizbullah militia despite recalling all Syrian troops from Lebanon.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon himself has frequently voiced opposition to giving up the Golan Heights, which Israel annexed in 1981 and has peopled with Jewish settlements alongside the original Druze inhabitants.
Yaalon created shockwaves last August when he became the first top Israeli officer to raise the possibility of a withdrawal from the strategic plateau.
"From the point of view of military requirements we could reach an agreement with Syria by giving up the Golan," he told the Yedioth Ahronoth daily at the time, although the government made it clear Yaalon was talking out of turn.
Damascus says it should recover everything that Syria lost as far as the ceasefire lines that ended the conflict with Israel's neighbours in the wake of the creation of the Jewish state in 1948.
Yaalon also used his latest interview to criticize Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas for not doing enough to prevent anti-Israeli attacks.
"He dithers too much, he is not firm and we have seen no serious progress," he was quoted as saying by Asharq Al Awsat.
"Terrorist groups such as Hamas are taking advantage of the situation to regroup. Hamas is continuing to build Qassam rockets and to smuggle arms from the Sinai into Gaza and the West Bank," said Yaalon.
If the Palestinian Authority had really wanted to be tough, they could have arrested Mohammed Al Hindi, the Islamic Jihad leader in the Gaza Strip, after a February 25 suicide attack claimed by the radical group. "That would have shown their determination," he said.
Israel 'can defend itself' if it gave Golan back
TOOLBAR
To add a comment,
Please log in:
Don't have an account?
Register now to comment on stories and stay up to date on important events and issues in the Middle East with our newsletter.