Syria tells Israel: 'We want peace'

Syria yesterday invited Israel to renew negotiations with Damascus to bring "comprehensive peace" to the area, but sources tell WorldNetDaily Jerusalem views the overture as an act of desperation while the U.S. works to isolate Syria.

Foreign Minister Farouk Shara told CNN yesterday an opportunity for peace exists, and outlined a formula for Syrian recognition of Israel in exchange for a complete Israeli retreat, presumably from the Golan Heights, which Israel took after Syria launched attacks against the Jewish state during the 1967 Six Day War.

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Shara also congratulated Israel and the Palestinian Authority on reopening lines of communication, and added Syria would like to see progress made in other channels as well, including Israeli talks with other Arab states.

But sources in Jerusalem told WorldNetDaily Syrian President Bashar Assad is feeling increasingly isolated by the U.S. and Israel, which has accused Syria of aiding the insurgency in Iraq, harboring terror groups – including top leaders of Hamas – and attempting to use Hezbollah to destabilize the region. They said Assad is reaching out to Israel in an attempt to deflate growing international opposition and head off a possible confrontation with the U.S.

"Syria is not going to use Israel to escape its responsibilities," said an Israeli source.

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U.S. officials have said they are contemplating further action against Damascus. There have been some reports the U.S. has even been considering military incursions into Syria to stop the flow of militants into Iraq.

"When you're being attacked from safe havens across the border – we've been through this a lot of times before – we're just not going to sit there," a U.S. official told the Jerusalem Post.

Shara rejected U.S. claims that Syria allows insurgents to cross its borders.

If anti-American insurgents "cross any bordering state to Iraq, it is against the will of the government of Syria," Shara said. "We are not friendly, even with them, because this is not the right way to help the Iraqis."

Congress in May passed the Syria Accountability Act, banning all U.S. exports to the Arab country except food and medicine and forbidding direct flights between Syria and the United States.