Syria and Israel: from war to peace

For many years, Syria's policy toward Israel fueled mistrust, fear and hostility among the Israeli public. A discernible shift in Syria's policy toward Israel occurred in the early 1990s with its participation in the Madrid Conference of late October 1991, and its subsequent negotiations with Israel. Clearly, the motivation for the Syrian participation in the peace process comes from its strategic weakness due to the collapse of the Soviet Union. Indeed, while an increased pragmatism has been guiding Asad and may bring him to sign a peace treaty with Israel, such pragmatism is not yet accompanied by any conceptual change in his thoughts about Israel, or a wish to a real reconciliation with it. -from Author