Netanyahu's aggressive stance

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reiterated his government's plan to withdraw from the peace process by refusing to recall troops from the Golan Heights. He also affirmed his view of the Golan as vital for Israeli security.

At the same time Netanyahu called on Syria to resume talks from point zero and refused to recognize the accord reached at the Washington talks in the presence of the United States.

While Netanyahu's statements express an escalation of Israel's aggressive intentions toward Syria and the peace process, they are also full of contradictions. Netanyahu has not only invited Syria to resume peace talks from point zero, but has done so with a determination to maintain Israel's occupation of the Golan.

He has backed down from his "peace in return for peace" slogan and torpedoed the land-for-peace principle -- a principle which will remain the basis for pushing the peace process forward.

Netanyahu's statements bring nothing new to the peace process but reflect Israel's aims; to retain land and maintain peace at the same time. The international resolutions and the land-for- peace principle therefore mean nothing to Israel and five years of U.S.-sponsored negotiations are being comprehensively rejected.

Israel's demand to resume negotiations from point zero means the destruction of the peace process. The possibility of bringing genuine peace to the region and restoring rights to all parties is quickly diminishing as a result of Israel's actions.

Moreover, the Israeli policies will undoubtedly plunge the region into an atmosphere of tension and lay the groundwork for more violence and counter-violence. This will not be in the interest of security and stability in the region and therefore is not in the interests of the world.

-- Al-Baath, Damascus