'No such thing as peace for free' – Syria demands 1/3 of Golan for peace with Israel
'The return of parts of the Golan Heights... is critical for domestic public opinion to support such a step,' a source close to Ahmed al-Sharaa told i24NEWS
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Syria is demanding that Israel hands over at least one-third of the Golan Heights territory seized by Israel prior to the 1974 armistice agreement, a source close to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa told i24NEWS on Thursday. "There is no such thing as peace for free," he said.
The Syrian source stated that there are two scenarios currently on the table for an acceptable political settlement between Israel and Syria:
Scenario 1: Israel would retain strategic areas in the Golan Heights equivalent to one-third of its territory, hand over a third to Syria, and lease another third from Syria for a period of 25 years.
Scenario 2: Israel keeps two-thirds of the Golan Heights, and hands over the remaining third to Syria, with the possibility of its lease. Under this scenario, the Lebanese city of Tripoli, close to the Lebanese-Syrian border, and possibly other Lebanese territories in the north of the country and the Beqaa Valley, would be handed over to Syria.
According to the source, Syria is seeking to reclaim sovereignty over Tripoli, one of five regions cut off from Syria to establish a Lebanese state during the French Mandate. Handing over Tripoli and other Sunni-majority Lebanese territories to Syria should also be included in the settlement, provided Israel is permitted to extend a pipeline to transport water from the Euphrates to Israel, as part of a water agreement that includes Turkey, Syria, and Israel.
"The new Syrian president has demonstrated unprecedented openness and opened direct lines of communication with Israel for security and military coordination in southern Syria," the Syria source stated.
He added that the return of parts of the Golan Heights, beyond those seized by Israel in Syrian territory by the IDF after the fall of the Assad regime, is critical for domestic public opinion to support such a step.
"Al-Sharaa would likely face significant internal resistance should he fail to do so," the source stated.
US sanctions removal cannot be seen as "Israeli payment" for peace with Syria, he concluded. "The sanctions removal is a separate matter," the source said.