13 Comments
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C. Stone's avatar

It would be total insanity for Israel to relinquish even one inch of the Golan. Use it, Druze it, but certainly do not lose it.

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Mark Balderson's avatar

I think part of the problem is clearing out the thousands of land mines. I remember visiting the Golan Heights and there were warning signs posted everywhere.

It would be a tragic mistake to give up the Golan for peace. If that were to happen, Syria would again be overrun by Jihadists or Turkey with terrorists eager to be on Israel's border once again like prior to 1967.

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Carmen Ringelmann's avatar

I agree, Mark. Let the start-up nation smarts come up with a clever way to do this and myself and my doggies would be more than happy to sign up for community building there.

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Daniella's avatar

It appears that your government learned nothing from the Gaza exchange for peace!!! Don’t repeat the same mistake with the Golan Heights!!

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Gary Friedman's avatar

So many priorities...so little time and resource. The resource challenges you describe in Golan Heights settlement development conjures painful, disturbing memories of the dismantling of Israeli settlements in Gaza (2005). Solidification/consolidation of Israel's sphere of influence along the Crescent extending from the Golan Heights into SE Lebanon+SW Syria (Druze), E Syria+NE Iraq (Kurds), and Azerbaijan is a post-Ottoman/pre-Sykes-Picot opportunity never before realized. IDF/IAF resources to maintain any umbrella of protection/support are immense...but invaluable. Training up & integrating Druze and Kurdish police and military forces to align with IDF/IAF priorities is a herculean task...but invaluable in the long run. Your thoughts?

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Rick Miller's avatar

The Golan is beyond negotiation. It’s the Druze area of Syria (Daraa?) where the IDF is maintaining a “security zone”that will be the subject of negotiations for withdrawal.

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Philip Carl Salzman's avatar

Israel has announced thirteen new cities in Samaria. Couldn't a couple of them be shifted to Golan? Israel needs protection from the north as well as from the east.

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Sheldon's avatar

I can’t imagine what carrot or stick Trump could use to persuade Israel to relinquish control of the Golan Heights. Or if he even has that inclination considering he recognized Israel’s sovereignty of the Golan in Trump 1.0. Regardless, Israel without control of the Golan, would present a nightmare scenario for the Jewish State.

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Beautiful Western Australia's avatar

I don’t for a minute trust Trump. He can easily double-cross Israel in pursuit of a ‘deal’.

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Dave S's avatar

The Golan has been modern Israel‘s for longer than it was Syria. The Golan was used to shell Israeli communities in the Galilee when it was part of Syria. It’s going nowhere!! If the Syrian government wants peace with Israel, it will be peace without any land exchanges. But first they need to demonstrate that they’re not Jihadis and that they are seeking peace.

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blackdog1955's avatar

Amen brother

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