Israel aiming to populate Golan
2003-12-31 16:47
Jerusalem - Israel has approved a $56m plan to expand settlements on the occupied Golan Heights.
However, a high-ranking official insisted the project was not meant as a rebuff to Syrian President Bashar Assad's recent peace overtures.
The Israeli official, speaking on Wednesday on condition of anonymity, downplayed the decision, saying it was just a part of a national economic plan and was initiated before Assad's recent offer to reopen talks.
Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria during the 1967 Middle East War.
Syria, which is still technically at war with Israel, demands the return of the strategic plateau as part of any potential peace deal.
Assad called in an interview with the New York Times in mid-December for the United States to work for the renewal of peace talks between Israel and Syria.
In response, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said this week Syria must crack down on terror groups operating from its territory and indicated Israel would not agree in principle to give up the Golan before any talks.
Katz had 'twisted the facts'
Agriculture minister Yisrael Katz, a hard-line politician, said on Wednesday that Israel's plan to increase the Golan's population would help strengthen its control there and had been developed after Assad's comments in an effort to raise the price of giving up the territory in any negotiations.
The senior official said Katz had twisted the facts to apply political pressure on Sharon.
Several officials interviewed in the Israeli media said the project was initiated in October, before Assad's remarks.
The official indicated that Israel was interested in reopening peace talks with Syria that broke down in 2000.
Under the settlement plan, Israel hopes to bring 900 families to the Golan in the next three years, said Katz.
"There is no dialogue with the Syrians," Katz told Israel Radio.
"This is an Israeli decision that the Golan Heights is an integral part of the state of Israel and we don't have any intention of giving up our hold."
The Israeli official said Sharon seriously regretted Katz's comments and their timing. The plan was taken out of context and misused for political reasons, the official said.
- AP