ME AVN FAN From Switzerland, joined May 2002, 13875 posts, RR: 27 Posted (7 years 2 months 3 weeks 4 days 4 hours ago) and read 672 times:
To pick up the previous thread, and in reference to question of Andes....., yes, peace in the area will be a gigantic push to tourism. Not only do Palestine+Israel possess unequalled cultural treasures, but the open borders with Lebanon and Syria, plus those already open towards Jordan and Egypt, will enable tour-operators to offer combinations of these countries, so that a tourist on one single journey will have the possibility to see the pyramids and Cairo plus Alexandria, Jerusalem and the Dome of the Rocks, beautiful Damascus and in the end relax in Beirut. or the other way round and relax in Alexandria .
AndesSMF From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 3, posted (7 years 2 months 3 weeks 4 days 1 hour ago) and read 630 times:
Yes, lets continue the thread...
So what are the distances we are talking about, say from the Giza plateau, the red sea, up to Gaza, Jerusalem, Petra, and Beirut. Are those close enough to make a good tour?
ME AVN FAN From Switzerland, joined May 2002, 13875 posts, RR: 27 Reply 4, posted (7 years 2 months 3 weeks 3 days 10 hours ago) and read 603 times:
Quoting LY7E7 (Reply 2): Maybe Lebanon but definetely not Syria. You will not see a peace accord with Syria in the next 100 years (at least).
as soon as an Israel-Palestinian settlement is reached, Syria will sign a peace-treaty with Israel, possibly together with Lebanon
Quoting AndesSMF (Reply 3): So what are the distances we are talking about, say from the Giza plateau, the red sea, up to Gaza, Jerusalem, Petra, and Beirut. Are those close enough to make a good tour?
ok for a 10 days tour -- it is 100s of kilometers, but good roads
Windshear From Denmark, joined Mar 2000, 2309 posts, RR: 11 Reply 5, posted (7 years 2 months 3 weeks 3 days 10 hours ago) and read 597 times:
Quoting ME AVN FAN (Reply 4): as soon as an Israel-Palestinian settlement is reached, Syria will sign a peace-treaty with Israel, possibly together with Lebanon
Is that a promise?
I am curious... What is your connection to the Middle East? Obviously you know mine.
Boaz.
"If you believe breaking is possible, believe in fixing also"-Rebbe Nachman
no, it is a forecast. Neither can I make promises on behalf of Dr Assad nor of potential successors. But I am very certain in this regard. I had a lady from Damascus (of Palestinian origin, from a Haifa family) as Arabic-teacher for a while, and from her, and on a Damascus-visit also from her family, learnt a lot about "local" things about that great city
Quoting Ly7e7 (Reply 6): Do you serioulsy think that they'll will forget about the Golan heights? Cause we certainly won't.
not enthusiastically, but they will, if some very local solutions can be arranged, which have to be arranged anyway, as soon as the overall situation improves. And compliments btw. for the election-results.
I admire your optimism, but Syria as of now, politically, is no where near stable!
They still are involved in housing Palestinian terrorist training camps, and have close bonds with Iran, Hizbollah goes in the wake of that.
Now I see why they might feel a need to alliance them selves sorta speak, but this is why it seems like a never ended stand off. You see Syria needs to cut those relations, if that happens then we have the issue of Golan.
I have also met Syrians and they've also left a good impression on me, they are a nation of a proud past!
I really feel sad that their culture has been lost.
Boaz.
"If you believe breaking is possible, believe in fixing also"-Rebbe Nachman
Their culture has NOT been lost, and their country already made a step forward when Hafez el-Assad replaced Nureddin el-Atassi, and Dr Bashar el-Assad has introduced many improvements in the fields of personal freedom, computers, photocopiers, internet etc. What is stagnating is the political freedom, or in other words the political dictatorship. The general INTERNAL development in many ways is going in a good way. They however should restrict radical Palestinian movements, and should restrict the links to Tehran somewhat.
Avi From Israel, joined Sep 2001, 922 posts, RR: 6 Reply 10, posted (7 years 2 months 3 weeks 3 days 6 hours ago) and read 554 times:
Quoting ME AVN FAN (Reply 4): as soon as an Israel-Palestinian settlement is reached, Syria will sign a peace-treaty with Israel, possibly together with Lebanon
You make it sounds so easy
Syria is not waiting for the Palestinians. On the contrary, they felt betrayed by them when the Palestinian signed the Oslo accord in 1993 and left them behind (and in 95 it was Jordan).
Without entering into the problems that Syria has today with the world and other things that Boaz said there is another very major thing here.
Syria will demand that Israel will withdraw to the June 67 lines. This will never happen, mainly because the international border is east to that line.
In 2000 the UN set a precedent by setting the border between Israel and Lebanon with maps from early 20th century (when the UK and France occupied the area). The same maps will set the border with Syria one day and Syria will have many problems with that and the big (huge actually) one is that Syrians will not be able to put their legs into the Galilee sea (they could before 67' by occupying Israeli land). That one won't be easy. There were some reports in the past that Israel and Syria were close to a deal (both with Rabin and Netanyahu) and this problem (even before the 2000 precedent) prevented it (not to mention other problems like the Hermon mountain).
There is no question that peace with Lebanon and Syria (if / when happens) will be together.
I admit that there are some complicated issues to be solved. There will be compromises to be found. Basically however, most of the Syrian "positions" is rethorics, and not to be taken literally. No, the actual stumbling block of everything quite obviously is East Jerusalem. While it is obvious that the Arab side has to make heavy concessions in regard to both the WailingWall including adjacent old Jewish quarters (which 1948-67 were Jordanian) and some adjoining settlements, while Israel will have to make concessions in regard to A) sovereignty of East Jerusalem in principle B) the role of East Jerusalem as Palestine Capital and C) the Haram-al-Sharif . Some very heavy things indeed. And while the elections on your side brought quite nice results, the ones on the other side produced rubbish.
Alessandro From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 12, posted (7 years 2 months 3 weeks 3 days 5 hours ago) and read 541 times:
I really regret not going to Gaza airport and gamble at the casino in Jericho,
as for your dreams. Peace in ME will only happen when they go broke, add
Iraq, lot to see there as well.
ME AVN FAN From Switzerland, joined May 2002, 13875 posts, RR: 27 Reply 15, posted (7 years 2 months 3 weeks 2 days 12 hours ago) and read 504 times:
Quoting Alessandro (Reply 12): Peace in ME will only happen when they go broke
The Palestinians HAVE gone broke a year ago, by international accounting standards. Money around, but not really available due to accounting problems. Lebanon had such things in the late 70ies and the 80ies, and now is out of it. No, dire straits do NOT solve problems
Quoting Alessandro (Reply 14): No solution just facts about the region...
not facts, but exaggerations -- exaggerations of existing problems, but exaggerations nevertheless.
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