January 26, 2008 (LPAC)--Interviewed by the Washington Post's Lally Weymouth, Israeli Defense Minister and Labor Party chairman Ehud Barak was asked, among other things, "Do you think that the Syrian track should be pursued?" He responded, "I think that we have shown... a respect for Syria, its interests and its leaders. We expect from them to do the same regarding Israel. If this basic kind of element will be there, I think a Syrian track is... potentially positive." Weymouth went on: "I thought the U.S. has opposed Israel negotiating with Syria," to which Barak replied, "I think they realized in recent years that we understand the Syrian issue better."

Lyndon LaRouche has insisted since last Autumn, that a negotiated Israel-Syria peace is attainable in the near term, and is indispensable to unlock the potential Israeli-Palestinian peace. At the same time, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is moving to resolve the humanitarian crisis created by Israels Siege of Gaza while at the same time inviting both the Hamas and Fatah Palestinian factions to reconciliation talks in Cairo. He called on Israel to left the siege on Gaza and manage the border crossing. "They should get things back to normal according to previous agreements and understandings," Mubarak is quoted as saying in Ha'aretz.

At the same time, Mubarak invited both Hamas and Fatah to Cairo to hold reconciliation talks. "I want this language of violence to stop," Mubarak said. "Peace could be achieved on the basis of international resolutions and agreements that demand the establishment of a Palestinian state."

In accepting the invitation, Hamas leader Khaled Meshal said, " I and all the brothers in the Hamas leadership welcome participating and will seek to make the dialogue a success." Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has yet to state whether he, as head of the Fatah, would accept the invitation to hold talks with Hamas. But Palestinian officials say that Abbas will be in Cairo Wednesday, to talk with Mubarak about Gaza, after he meets with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

At the same time, on Friday, a meeting of rejectionist Palestinian groups in Damascus issued a statement at the end of a three-day National Palestinian Conference, calling on Hamas and Fatah to unite in the face of the worsening situation in Gaza, due to the Israeli siege. This is another reflection, significant even though very indirect, of Syria's willingness to conduct real talks.