ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the probability of sustaining ongoing substantive negotiations between Syria and Israel must relate to two sets of motives: basic considerations on the part of both sides, for or against negotiating a settlement and considerations stemming from the immediate aftermath of the Gulf War. The collective memory of the period is of a prolonged and violent struggle on the part of Syria against Jewish settlements inside the old borders and against civilian activities near the frontier. The Syrians are aware of their comparative isolation on the Arab scene. In Israel, Syria was regarded for years as posing two preconditions prior to entering negotiations: an Israeli commitment eventually to withdraw from the entire territory of the Golan Heights; and agreement to an international conference as a framework for Arab-Israeli talks. The Israeli-Syrian, as distinct from the Israeli-Arab, military balance is presently seen in Israel as being at its best possible point and unlikely to improve.
