Israeli officials have confirmed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has relayed a willingness to resume talks with Syria to French President Nicolas Sarkozy. It will presumably be a key topic for discussions between Sarkozy and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad who is currently in Paris. Tel Aviv has, however, refuted a significant second message, relating to Israel’s willingness to withdraw from the Golan Heights, as reported by al-Arabia channel. Netanyahu’s overture to Israel is not one-sided. Assad had also expressed a desire to hold fresh talks with the Israeli government.

How Israel and Syria achieve this under the dark shadow of Golan Heights is the hard question. Captured in 1967 and later annexed by Israel in 1981, Golan Heights remains the biggest contention between Tel Aviv and Damascus. Especially since Israel’s position on retreating its boundaries to the pre-1967 state and containment of settlements—illegal in every sense of the word and a complete violation of international law—is well known. Housing about 18,000 illegal Israeli settlers, the return of the Golan Heights to Damascus will not be easy for Israel, even if it decides to abandon its obdurate position by some miracle. Besides Golan, Israel’s other major contention with Syria is its alleged support for the anti-Israel political groups in Lebanon and Gaza—Hezbollah and Hamas. For Syria to give up the right to its territories under Israeli occupation would 
be tantamount to political suicide and a weakening of its position, not only regionally, but also internationally.

Expecting Syria to succumb to this in the larger interest of peace is inane. Even though Assad had ruled out any pre-conditions, he maintained that Syrian rights need to be restored. According to him, one way to achieve these was through dialogue. Turkish sponsored indirect talks between the two states last year broke down with Israel launching the 22-day Gaza offensive, a war 
internationally condemned. Previously held talks in 2000 had also failed on the issue of the Golan Heights.

If talks are to resume, it may well be done under the auspices of France and not Turkey this time. Israel is apparently displeased with Turkey for daring to raise a voice against Israeli atrocities in Gaza.

While dialogue is always welcome, it needs sincerity and commitment from both sides. Is Israel willing to extend an open hand with a clean heart? If so, then it should review its position first on the settlements issue and commit towards a peaceful solution with the Palestinians.  The barometer for Israel’s sincerity towards achieving regional peace—especially if it seeks the coveted acceptance and normalisation of relations with its neighbouring states and the Arab world— will ultimately be how it deals with Palestinians.