Syrian Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Faisal al-Mokdad was quoted as saying on Saturday that Damascus retains several options to retake the occupied Golan Heights, including options of a less-than diplomatic nature – the Jordanian daily al-Dustour reported. The Syrian official addressed the Israeli settlers of the Golan, saying “the settlers should bear in mind that we will defend our land at any time. They should know that the Golan Heights belong to us and that they should not be raising their children in the Golan, since this is not their place. They will not enjoy their lives there.”
“Syria has several courses of action if Israel refuses to return the Golan – however we still support peace and are not afraid of entering peace negotiations with Israel,” stressed Mokdad.
“Syria was surprised to find that the commitments that Israel made in the past regarding the Syrian channel, were not binding,” he conveyed.
Regarding the current indirect negotiations through Turkish mediation, the deputy minister stated that Syria saw the talks as being based on the principle of the so-called ‘Rabin Deposit.’ “We are not striving for peace from a position of weakness. The victory achieved by the Lebanese resistance (Hizbullah) in July 2006 changed everything in the region,” he said.
Meanwhile, Syrian Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa is pessimistic regarding the talks with Israel. In an interview with the Jordanian newspaper, al-Sharaa said the negotiations in Turkey are conducted in separate rooms, with the Turkish mediator shuttling between the delegations.
April 27th, 2026
ALBAWABA - The criminal trial of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, scheduled today, was canceled only 90 minutes before it was set to start, local media reported Monday. The Jerusalem ...
