Embattled neighbors: Israel, Syria and the elusive peace

At the very beginning of the twentieth century, the Arab nationalist thinker Negib Azoury predicted that the rising Jewish and Arab nationalist movements are set on a collision course. The Zionist movement in Palestine and then in Israel came to embody this Jewish nationalism. On the other hand, independent Syria took upon itself the task of representing the Arab nationalist movement and its aspirations. This is how Syria and Israel became embattled and warring neighbors.; This dissertation tries to chart the course of the conflict between these two new Middle Eastern states and to study its phases from Israel's War of Independence to the present peace process and negotiations between the two countries.; During these phases American policy continued to consider Syria a pivotal player in the stability and affairs of the region. This in spite of Syria's traditional close relations with the Soviet Union. Israel, on the other hand, deepened its strategic relationship and cooperation with the U.S. The Desert Storm military operation against Iraq plus the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Palestinian Intifada introduced massive changes in the political configuration of the Middle East. The most important byproduct of these changes was the takeoff of the peace process at the Madrid Peace Conference in 1991.; Contrary to expectations, the dawning of the post-Cold War age did not lead to a lessening of tensions in the region. Instead, it led to a new alignment of forces involving Israel and Turkey, on one side, and Syria and Iran, on the other. This, in addition to a new Arab political front facing Israel and consisting of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Syria.; The Palestinians succeeded in reaching the Oslo breakthrough with the Israelis while the Jordanians concluded their own peace treaty with the Jewish state leaving Syria to focus on its own part of the peace process. The protracted nature of the Israeli-Syrian negotiations show that both countries are having difficulty shedding their deep-seated anxieties, ingrained habits and the traditional constraints of their domestic politics. My conclusion is that a deep peace between Israel and Syria remains elusive in the foreseeable future although a face saving settlement might probably take place on the basis of returning the Golan Heights to Syria in exchange for a cold contractual peace.