Israeli official rejects Syrian call for new negotiations

Tel Aviv- Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres on Saturday rejected recent calls by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem for renewed peace negotiations with Israel. Speaking to the Lebanese Daily Star newspaper, Moallem called for negotiations without preconditions, but Peres said that Israel must require certain conditions. The Israeli minister demanded that Syria close Damascus-based offices of Palestinian militant groups and that it end support of the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah. Syrian President Bashar Assad made similar calls Friday to renew negotiations with Israel. Left-wing politicians in Israeli called on Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Peres to respond positively to the Syrian statements. Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz, a Labour Party member, has repeatedly called for negotiations with Syria. Citing officials close to the Israeli leader, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported that Olmert rejected the Syrian proposal. Previous negotiations between the two countries focused on the Syrian Golan Heights, an area that Israel occupied in the 1967 Arab- Israeli war. © 2006 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

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