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Some Ready To Give Up Golan

Associated Press

Amitai Shelem’s position atop a cliff on the Golan Heights afforded him a comfortable perch to survey much of northern Israel stretching to the Mediterranean Sea.

“Have we gone mad?” the settler asked, pondering the notion that the government might order a withdrawal from the plateau for a peace treaty with Syria.

With Israel-Syria peace talks set to resume today in Washington, the once-unthinkable prospect is beginning to seem real to the 13,000 Israelis living on the Golan.

Some are even getting used to the idea.

“I don’t want to leave my home, but I don’t think the personal issue is relevant,” said Yigal Kipnis, a 46-year-old citrus grower who made the rocky, windswept plateau his home 17 years ago. If the Golan could be traded for peace, he said, “It’s worth it.”

Yet since Israel began peace talks with Syria in 1991, and especially in the three years since Yitzhak Rabin was elected premier, a Golan settlers’ lobby has fought to galvanize public opinion against giving up the territory.

Stickers and placards proclaiming “The people are with the Golan” popped up everywhere, and polls showed a strong majority of Israelis opposed the total Golan pullout Syria demands in exchange for peace.

Even so, Kipnis maintained, most Golan settlers have gradually reached the same conclusion he has - but have remained silent on an issue that has the potential to sharply divide their close-knit rural communities.

Such a trend would reflect an apparent softening of Israeli public opinion in general following Rabin’s assassination last month by a Jewish extremist opposed to his policy of giving up land for peace.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: GOLAN HEIGHTS FACTS Geography: The Golan Heights is a 476-square-mile volcanic plain - about one-fifth the size of the West Bank. The hilly terrain ranges from 1,000 feet above sea level in the south to 4,000 feet in the north. Mt. Hermon, the highest point, is 9,286 feet high. History: In biblical times, the rocky plain was contested between the northern kingdom of Israel and the Aramean kingdom centered in Damascus. Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and drove the Syrians back off the heights in the 1973 war. Importance: The Golan is a gateway for Israel to attack the Syrian capital of Damascus, only 37 miles to the north, or for Syria to seize northern Israel. The Golan also controls water flowing to the Sea of Galilee. Population: There are 13,000 Israelis in 33 settlements, and 15,000 Druse Arabs, most of whom are loyal to Syria. Israel estimates more than 70,000 Arabs fled the Golan in the 1967 war, while Syria puts the figure several times higher. Associated Press

This sidebar appeared with the story: GOLAN HEIGHTS FACTS Geography: The Golan Heights is a 476-square-mile volcanic plain - about one-fifth the size of the West Bank. The hilly terrain ranges from 1,000 feet above sea level in the south to 4,000 feet in the north. Mt. Hermon, the highest point, is 9,286 feet high. History: In biblical times, the rocky plain was contested between the northern kingdom of Israel and the Aramean kingdom centered in Damascus. Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and drove the Syrians back off the heights in the 1973 war. Importance: The Golan is a gateway for Israel to attack the Syrian capital of Damascus, only 37 miles to the north, or for Syria to seize northern Israel. The Golan also controls water flowing to the Sea of Galilee. Population: There are 13,000 Israelis in 33 settlements, and 15,000 Druse Arabs, most of whom are loyal to Syria. Israel estimates more than 70,000 Arabs fled the Golan in the 1967 war, while Syria puts the figure several times higher. Associated Press