Israeli-Syrian peace negotiations stalled after their armies' chiefs of staff met in Washington.

Markowiz, Gideon · 1995

The meeting followed a US-brokered agreement that talks would follow that meeting. However the Syrians presented new conditions for continuing the negotiations. Israel rejected them and the US has insisted that the Syrians keep their promise. Israeli hard-liners are nevertheless concerned that the Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin is willing to return the Golan to Syria. They have tabled a bill requiring a special Knesset (parliamentary) majority for any withdrawal there. The bill was defeated because the number of Knesset Members who voted for it equaled those who voted against. Many Israelis consider the Golan a vital strategic asset since it towers over the Jewish settlements in the valley and gave their army the space it needed to repel the Syrian attack during the 1973 war. It is an important souse of water, since the Jordan river rises there and a favoured tourist spot. Photo shows the Qual'at Namrud fortress the Crusaders built in the northern Golan Heights in the 12th century. Moslem wall paintings were discovered in it. July 28, 1995.