A possible Israel/Syria deal?

[aclubs]

Saw this in Haaretz. Apparently, Israel and Syria have been holding secret talks from 2004 to 2006 about a negotiated settlement to their disputes.

@Haaretz article

The main points of the understanding are as follows:

An agreement of principles will be signed between the two countries, and following the fulfillment of all commitments, a peace agreement will be signed.

As part of the agreement on principles, Israel will withdraw from the Golan Heights to the lines of 4 June, 1967. The timetable for the withdrawal remained open: Syria demanded the pullout be carried out over a five-year period, while Israel asked for the withdrawal to be spread out over 15 years.

At the buffer zone, along Lake Kinneret, a park will be set up for joint use by Israelis and Syrians. The park will cover a significant portion of the Golan Heights. Israelis will be free to access the park and their presence will not be dependent on Syrian approval.

Israel will retain control over the use of the waters of the Jordan River and Lake Kinneret.

The border area will be demilitarized along a 1:4 ratio (in terms of territory) in Israel’s favor.

According to the terms, Syria will also agree to end its support for Hezbollah and Hamas and will distance itself from Iran.

Also, the paper has included a nifty map of what the agreement might look like.

Think this is a good idea? Particularly, what would happen to Hizbullah and Hamas?

[Bryan_Ekers]

Well, I like the idea of Israel having normalized relationships with as neighbors as possible and in light of new technologies like night-vision and FLIR and whatnot, the Golan isn’t quite as strategically critical as it once was so… good for them. And the more undercut Hizbollah/Hamas gets, the better.

I just hope no Israelis try to settle in the area, heh.

[BrightNShiny]

A couple of questions (my knowledge of the Golan Heights is sparse):

1. How extensive was Syrian settlement in the area prior to Israeli annexation?

2. Did the Syrians have water rights prior to annexation?

3. How stable is the current Syrian regime?