Golan Settlers Should Be Able to Stay, Draft Says

Israel wants Jewish settlers to be able to remain in their homes in the Golan Heights even after Israeli troops withdraw from the strategic plateau in an eventual peace accord with Syria, according to a U.S. draft treaty published Thursday.

The document, prepared by the United States and carefully guarded during last week’s Israeli-Syrian peace talks in Shepherdstown, W.Va., was leaked to the Israeli daily Haaretz, which published the text.

U.S. and Israeli officials later confirmed its authenticity, but the Israelis were at pains to note that the document was a draft, that it has no legal status and that the government of Prime Minister Ehud Barak has made “numerous”--presumably negative--comments on it.

The Clinton administration, which tried assiduously to keep the substance of the recent negotiations from becoming public, was dismayed by the leak, which officials said will make the search for peace in the Middle East more difficult.

“It is particularly unhelpful for working documents and the confidentiality of the negotiations to be jeopardized,” said State Department spokesman James P. Rubin, a frequent critic of Israel’s feisty press. He said the document was intended only as a tool to help focus the recent discussions.

Others close to the negotiations said publication of the document will make it tough for either side to change its stated position because even incremental shifts will now be viewed as concessions.

Apart from the Israeli demand that Syria allow the 17,000 Israelis now living in the Golan to remain after a peace agreement is signed--a demand that seems unlikely to be met--there are few surprises in the document. For the most part, it sketches out relatively familiar areas of consent and dispute between the two sides.

Still, it provides the first real glimpse of the complexities of the negotiations, which are being conducted at the highest level ever between the two nations. The talks are to resume Wednesday near Washington, possibly again in Shepherdstown. Barak has said he believes that a framework agreement can be reached within two months.

The draft document underscores the many issues separating Israel and Syria, including water, security and the fate of the Golan Heights, which Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East War. Barak has indicated that he is willing to cede most or all of the Golan in exchange for extensive security arrangements and the establishment of normal diplomatic relations with Damascus, but he faces growing opposition at home.

Israel’s bid to allow Jewish residents to remain in the Golan after an Israeli troop withdrawal was greeted with surprise Thursday, even by the settlers themselves. Some welcomed the idea, saying it indicates that the government recognizes that “creative solutions” must be considered. But even those positively inclined said few, if any, settlers would be willing to live under Syrian rule.

“We live in a democracy,” said Marla Van Meter, a spokeswoman for the Golan Residents Committee. “Living under Syrian sovereignty is really not an option for us.”

Some analysts said the proposal is a nonstarter because Syria, which has said it wants to return thousands of Syrian citizens to the Golan who were forced to leave after Israel’s victory, would never agree. Barak’s aim, they said, appeared to be to reassure the settlers that Israel is fighting hard to prevent the dismantling of their communities.

On the critical issue of borders, the document described Syria’s position as “based on the June 4, 1967, line,” which includes areas west of the 1923 international border that were under Syria’s control just before the war broke out.

Israel’s position on the border issue was not defined in the text other than that Israel wanted to wait before holding such a discussion until it knew more about security considerations and the kind of peace Syria would offer. It is widely assumed, however, that Barak is ready to pull back to the 1923 border, which runs parallel to the 1967 line and in some sections is separated from it by only a few yards.

Israeli analysts said the fact that the 1923 border was not specifically mentioned in the document could give the negotiators some needed flexibility.

The document states that Syria has accepted the establishment of an early-warning station at Mt. Hermon, the Golan’s highest point, although Damascus differs sharply with Israel on who should run it. Syria says the station should be operated by France and the United States; Israel believes that it should have an “effective Israeli presence.”

Seeking to prevent attacks, Israel also argues that the Golan should be demilitarized; Syria says equal areas on both sides of the newly drawn border should be demilitarized.

“Most of the provisions contained in the document are so general that, more than anything else, one reads this and thinks about how much work remains,” said Joseph Alpher, director of the American Jewish Committee’s Jerusalem office.

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Times staff writer Norman Kempster in Washington contributed to this report.