Syria must cut off militants before talks: Israel

UNITED NATIONS: Israel will not accept Syria’s call to resume peace talks until Damascus cuts off support for militant groups seeking to carry out attacks on the Jewish state, the Israeli foreign minister said on Tuesday.

Syria could send a signal to Israel of its willingness to move toward peace by returning the remains of an Israeli spy it executed four decades ago, added Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, who is also Israel’s deputy prime minister. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad renewed a call for the resumption of peace talks with Israel without preconditions in Moscow on Tuesday during an official visit to Russia.

Shalom said such negotiations were an important goal but Damascus first had to “change the locks” on Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hizbollah offices and training camps on its soil. The three groups were trying to launch attacks on Israeli targets to deter Israel from working with new Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, he said. reuters

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