Posted By James Besser
Golan Negotiations at Annapolis? / James Besser in Washington
The onetime international peace conference, downgraded to a short Israeli-Palestinian meeting with a huge cast of international onlookers, may now also delve into the core issue in long-stalled Israel-Syrian negotiations: the Golan Heights.
Washington sources say private diplomacy over the weekend will seek a formula that allows some reference to Golan without shifting the focus away from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the reason the meeting was called in the first place.
The government of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has been flirting with the idea of negotiations over Golan for a while now, apparently believing there’s a better chance of dealing with strongman Bashar Assad than the weak, vacillating Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.
For Olmert, selling any new land-for-peace deal to an Israeli public disillusioned by the Gaza and Lebanon pullouts won’t be easy, but a deal with Assad may go down better because at least the dictator looks like someone who can deliver on his promises - assuming, of course, that he wants to.
In contrast, any movement toward a deal with Abbas will be regarded with skepticism by the Israeli public, especially since Hamas tossed him out of Gaza and may soon threaten his control of the West Bank, as well.
But from the perspective of the U.S. State Department, settling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains the key to dealing with a wide range of regional problems, starting with Iran. A Syrian –Israeli deal may be nice, but there’s concern that wouldn’t boost other U.S. foreign policy priorities.
The administration got one bit of good news over the Thanksgiving holiday: the foreign minister of Saudi Arabia said he would attend. That fulfills a key goal of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who hopes Saudi participation will stiffen Abbas’ backbone.
But according to an Associated Press report, Saud al-Faisal's participation is grudging; he said he isn’t interested in diplomatic niceties like handshakes and photo-ops, at least with Israeli leaders.