Syrian-Israeli Conflict: Route Not Traveled

Abstract

The article says that in the second half of the twentieth century, the Golan Heights became an objective factor of contradictions in the Syrian-Israeli conflict. It is noted that the combination of the need to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict and, at the same time, the territorial conflict with Syria created additional obstacles to ensuring security in the Middle East region; it does not work without diplomatic agreements with Syria. It is important to understand that from the very beginning of the negotiation process, Syria, whose position was characterized by extreme bias, believed that the Golan Heights was an end in itself, to which its interests were locked, while Israel focuses on diplomacy, focusing its attention on finding adequate means settlement of the Syrian-Israeli conflict, and not just on goals. It is especially obvious that the paradigm of conflict settlement on the basis of the principle of “territory for peace” adopted in the negotiation process became repetitive (frozen) at the level of form, which did not happen spontaneously, but only as a result of the absence of any shifts in its settlement. Moreover, the Syrian-Israeli conflict has no solution within the framework of this formula, since the time of simple and at the same time correct approaches to its settlement has passed. The adherence to this undoubtedly authoritative paradigm, as a kind of ritual, began to restrain the emergence of new unexpected forms aimed at resolving the Syrian-Israeli conflict, which is increasingly saturated with complex uncertainty. The article focuses on the fact that it is critically important to understand that today a different interpretation of the place and role of the Golan Heights in the Syrian-Israeli diplomatic dialogue is required, the scale of which should not be overestimated and which, moreover, continues to be in a state of stagnation. Therefore, modern diplomacy must proceed from a critical understanding of a new complex reality - the Civil War in Syria, which makes it as difficult as possible to find and change the paradigm of a Syrian-Israeli settlement of the conflict.