Senior government officials are signaling that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman are in sync regarding renewed diplomatic talks with the Syrians, with both senior officials firm in their opinion that there cannot be any preconditions as is being demanded by Damascus.

Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad on Sunday released a message that talks cannot resume until such time Israel agrees to a total withdrawal to the pre-1967 Six Day War borders, which in essence translates to a total Israeli withdrawal from the entire Golan Heights. In recent weeks the Syrian leader released harsher statements, stating that the Golan will be returned one way or another, not ruling out the military option.

The prime minister is reported to have told his close advisors that there will not be any deal with the Syrians until such time Damascus cuts its close ties with Iran.

In a related matter, Defense Minister Ehud Barak at the start of Sunday’s weekly cabinet meeting announced talks with the Syrians remains a high priority and Israel must engage in talks and this goal must remain atop the government’s agenda, undermining the position adopted by the prime minister and foreign minister.

Responding to the major policy dispute was Interior Minister Eli Yishai, who released a message calling on his colleagues to refrain from releasing such messages to the media, calling upon them to learn from the past and refrain from releasing unnecessary policy statements that just serve to complicate matters.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)