Jan 13 2024
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Q. The fate of the Gaza occupation is obviously the most pressing issue. But perhaps you can start by discussing the most recent Arab land occupied: the Israel-Syria border no-man’s land and the Mt. Hermon peak.
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A. Occupation in Syria is not only the most recent but also the most complicated issue internationally. Turkey (in the northwest) and the US (in the east) also occupy Syrian lands--far more than does Israel. Nowhere are there clear guidelines or conditions for ending any of these occupations.
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Israel, for its part, insists that the relatively small parcel of border area no-man’s-land that it occupied after the fall of Bashar Assad in December of 2024 will be abandoned when Jerusalem is convinced that the new regime in Damascus can ensure stability and that it harbors no threatening Islamist intentions. Meanwhile IDF units in the new Syria buffer zone are providing medical aid to Syrians--but also clashing with anti-Israel demonstrators.
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Israel’s suspicions are understandable, for three reasons.
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First, Syria has not yet been stabilized. Regime forces are fighting Alawite supporters of Assad in Homs and along the Mediterranean coast. Alawite sources cite growing unrest among this religious minority that previously anchored the Assad regime. There is also unrest among Druze in and around Suwayda near the Syria-Jordan border. Not to mention unresolved Kurdish-Arab-Turkish issues in a huge swath of territory in Syria’s northeast.
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Second, Syria’s new rulers previously fought in the ranks of al-Qaeda and ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Today they claim to be more moderate and pluralistic. They say they do not seek conflict with Israel. Having fought militant Islamists for the past 16 months, Israel is not yet convinced it can abandon its new buffer zone.
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Third, the Turkish factor. Turkish leader Recip Tayyip Erdogan, himself an Islamist who supported and sheltered the new Syrian leaders for years in their northwest Syria redoubt, is widely seen as the patron of the new Syrian regime. His aggressive anti-Israel rhetoric gives Jerusalem cause for concern.
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The previous Syrian regime, under Assad, hosted Iranian forces that used Syria as a transit point for moving weaponry to Hezbollah in Lebanon. Now Israel harbors similar fears regarding Erdogan with his neo-Ottoman geostrategic ambitions.
One way or another, the presence in Syria of both Turkish and American armed forces is seen by Israel as a mitigating factor in its occupation considerations. And speaking of occupation, there are reports that the Shiite-majority government in neighboring Iraq has asked Washington not to withdraw its 2,000-strong armed contingent from eastern Syria, alleging that it buffers Iraq against any possible aggressive intentions on the part of the Sunni Islamists now ruling Damascus.​
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Yossi Alpher's Death Tango: Ariel Sharon, Yasser Arafat and Three Fateful Days in March
"Anyone seeking to understand how Israelis and Palestinians traded the hopes of Oslo for something approaching hopelessness is well-advised to read this book. With penetrating analysis and elegant prose, Yossi Alpher has told the gripping story of three days nearly two decades ago that continue to haunt would-be peacemakers. Yossi’s faithful readers will not be disappointed with his latest effort."
Ambassador Frederic C. Hof, Bard College
"A riveting account of the crucial days in March 2002 when the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was profoundly changed for the worse. The peace camp has never recovered from those wrenching days, and we live now without any hope of a just settlement. Alpher is a highly respected expert who has spent decades studying this conflict from both sides."
Bruce Riedel, Director of the Brookings Intelligence Project
"A critical assessment of a key period in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict never before presented in such detail. The best and most capable players at the executive and political levels proved unable to forge any resolution, final or partial, because both parties continued to maintain an insurmountable gulf between themselves. This is a MUST read for anyone daring to tackle the future of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and of Israel-Arab relations in general."
Efraim Halevy, former Head of the Mossad (1998-2002)
Oraib Khader and Avi Bar-On are youngish Palestinian and Israeli bachelors with security experience, readiness to do business with one another, a shared fondness for women and money, and total cynicism about the lack of peace between their two peoples.
Oraib and Avi can never become true friends: the cultural and political gaps are too wide. But as they confront a failed peace process and a bleak peace future, they readily become business partners: shady business that exploits a lot of naïve international peace aspirations.
As Oraib sums up on a visit to Sarpsborg, Norway, where the ultimately-failed Oslo peace talks were held, “There is a lesson here for those who still doggedly and hopelessly pursue a two-state solution in the Middle East. Get smart. Get out of the Israeli-Palestinian peace business. Step back and let the Jews and Arabs screw one another while making money.”