Syria: Olmert wolf in dove's clothing

State paper says alleged overflight shows Israel doesn't want peace; urges resuming negotiations.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
IAF jet 298.88 (photo credit: AP [file])
IAF jet 298.88
(photo credit: AP [file])
Syria said Wednesday that Israel's alleged air sortie over the country earlier this month showed that it was not interested in peace. The state-run daily Tishrin, which reflects the government's thinking, urged Israeli officials to demonstrate their sincerity about peacemaking by agreeing to resume negotiations from the point they last reached in 2000 before talks broke down. "Had Israel been interested in peacemaking, it would not have violated Syrian airspace. Israel refuses to talk about the piracy its military jets carried out by violating Syrian airspace, but now its prime minister is talking about peace with Syria without preconditions," the paper said. "In this way, [Prime Minister Ehud] Olmert puts on the clothes of a peace dove, but he has forgotten to take out the claws and fangs of the war wolf," the paper added. On Tuesday, Tishrin criticized Washington for failing to condemn the alleged September 6 Israeli incursion, which it called a violation of international law. Details of the so-called incursion remain unclear. US officials have reportedly said IAF warplanes struck a target. A senior US non-proliferation official said last week that North Korean personnel were in Syria helping its nuclear program, raising speculation that the Israelis were targeting a nuclear installation.