November 28, 2007 (LPAC)--Washington sources from the Arab world, and from U.S. institutions told EIR today that there are well-founded reports that it was the Israelis who insisted to the Bush administration that Syria must participate in the Annapolis meeting. As EIRNS and LPAC have been reporting, there is a concerted push, at the highest levels in Israel, including President Shimon Peres, to resume Syria-Israeli peace negotiations. Until now, it was Washington that had been pressuring Israel against these negotiations, but now that Syria attended the Annapolis meeting, the talks are expected to materialize, said a U.S. source with intelligence background.

It is significant to note that the Saudi Arabian government also weighed in favoring Israeli-Syria talks, calling for such talks to commence quickly. In an official statement released by the Saudi Embassy in Washington, Prince Saud al Faisal, stated, "We have come to support the launching of serious and continuing talks between the Palestinians and the Israelis that will address all the core and final status issues. These talks must be followed by the launching of the Syrian and Lebanese tracks at the earliest."

Al Faisal also called for an international supervisory mechanism to oversee the progress made on Israeli-Palestinian negotiations adding "it is imperative that Israel put in place the steps that it has been requested to implement: the freezing of settlement-building activity, the dismantling of illegal outposts, the releasing prisoners, a cease in construction of the wall (security fence in the West Bank), the removal of Israeli checkpoints and the siege on the Palestinian nation.. These steps have to be seriously implemented in order for the negotiations on a final status peace accord to succeed."