Syria's Assad vows to liberate Golan Heights

Date: 02 / 04 / 2009 Time: 14:08
Bethlehem - Ma'an/Agencies -

Syrian President Bashir Assad said on Thursday that he expects to free the occupied Golan Heights from Israeli control through negotiations or military action.

"There is no escaping the fact that the day will come when we will free the Golan, through peace or through war," Assad said. "When a citizen loses hope – he will turn to the path of resistance, in one form or the other."

In an interview with Qatari newspaper Al-Sharq, Assad also criticized the new Israeli government led by Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, saying, "All Israeli governments are the same: Ariel Sharon carried out a massacre in Palestine, and Barak aided the war in Gaza such that there is no difference between right and left in Israel."

"From the war of Palestine to the occupation of the Golan people are becoming more hostile towards Israel. There may come a generation that is unwilling to talk peace," he said.

"There is now a resurgence of the idea of resistance. Israel is advancing in a direction that goes against its interests, and eventually all people are moving towards resistance, which is certainly in the interest of the Arabs," he added.

On resistance for the Golan Heights, he said, "We have special, objective reasons in the Golan, which is mostly unpopulated. Its residents have undergone a transfer in 1967 and so there are very little inhabitants there, while the resistance requires large forces."

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