Netanyahu rules out pullout from Golan in any peace deal

Saturday, July 11, 2009

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Israel it will not give up large parts of the occupied territory in any peace deal with Syria. National Security Adviser Uzi Arad also said on Friday that as part of a deal with the Palestinians, Israel should be granted NATO membership.

Arad added that the consensus in Israel was it must keep a strong presence in the Golan Heights for "strategic, military and land-settlement reasons."

"If there is a territorial compromise, it is one that still leaves Israel on the Golan Heights and deep into the [Occupied] Golan Heights," Arad added.

Syrian President Assad said peace talks could not resume because Israel was not committed to reaching a deal.

Netanyahu has in the past expressed opposition to Israel's withdrawal from the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau of about 1,200 square kilometers that also contains important water sources in an otherwise arid region.

[link to www.dailystar.com.lb]