Syrian Muslim Brotherhood may seek peace with Israel

While the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt is saying it may reexamine the country’s peace accord with Israel, it’s counterpart in Syria is saying quite the opposite, stating it could reach a peace deal with Jerusalem.

In an interview with the Israel-based Arab language newspaper al-Sinara published Friday, Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Zoheir Salem, living in London, said that a future agreement with Israel is plausible.

According to Salem, after the current regime of President Bashar Assad is toppled and a new one takes its place, negotiations with Israel could resume.

Salem blamed the current [Baath] regime for initiating the 1967 Six Day War in which the Golan Heights were captured by Israel.

He said that without forgoing territorial claims, Arabs must acknowledge  “new demographic realities” in the region. Any peace agreement will have to take these realities into account and be approved by the future legitimate Syrian parliament.

Another interesting statement by Salem has to do with the peace process between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. He said it is up to the Palestinians, not the Syrians, to decide about a two-state solution.

The question of the Golan Heights has long been a sticking point in Israeli-Syrian negotiations over a peace deal. Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert and Assad were reportedly near a land for peace deal in 2008, though talks broke off with the launch of Operation Cast lead that winter.

Israel has argued the strategic need to maintain defensive positions on the Golan plateau as well as exclusive access to the Sea of Galilee.

Fighting inside Syria has gone on for 11 months, with thousands of casualties and widely suspected crimes against humanity. On Thursday the UN adopted a non-binding resolution calling on Assad to stop the violence.