There is no reason to be especially optimistic regarding the official resumption of negotiations between Israel and Syria regarding the disposition of the Golan Heights. We have, after all, been here before, down to just a few nettlesome issues that at the time proved impossible to resolve. True, as Churchill famously said (and as Obama seconds), “To jaw-jaw is always better than to war-war.” But if we are to believe the freshet of reactive statements in the wake of the formal announcement of the talks, mediated by Turkey, what is happening now goes well beyond “jawing.” Voices from both nations have made it clear that both know exactly what the “concessions” that are being demanded of them are. Knowing those concessions and nonetheless being prepared to announce the negotiations suggests either desperation or maturity.
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