SHOCK REPORT: Bibi was willing to cede Golan Heights to Assad
Israeli media reveals that Netanyahu was in secret negotiations with Syria until outbreak of civil war.
Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot revealed on Friday that hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has often criticized the concept of territorial withdrawal in exchange for peace, was in secret negotiations with Syria to do precisely that with the Golan Heights.
According to the report, the negotiations were conducted through a back channel throughout 2010, and were begun when Netanyahu agreed in principle to return the Golan, captured in the Six Day War of 1967, to Syria.
Yedioth quoted a senior American official as saying that the negotiations were serious and far-reaching and would have likely ended with an agreement had they not been interrupted by the uprising against Assad. The official estimated that Netanyahu resumed the talks with Assad to justify the stalemate in the negotiations with the Palestinians and because he viewed Syria as the weak link in the so called "axis of evil," which also includes Iran, Lebanon and Hezbollah.
Both Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak were involved in the negotiations, and U.S. President Obama, Secretary of State Clinton, and several other prominent American players in Middle East diplomacy were let in on the secret. The talks broke down only because of the sudden outbreak of the Syrian civil war.
Netanyahu's office has categorically denied the report, and claims that it has been published because of "political considerations," i.e., the upcoming Israeli elections.
Nonetheless, if true, it would not be the first time Netanyahu has made concessions in secret while saying something quite different in public. During the Oslo Process, Netanyahu agreed to withdraw from Hebron in 1997, despite his pledges otherwise. This left the right-wing feeling deceived and betrayed, which led to the collapse of Netanyahu's first government.
