Peace with Syria should be explored: Israeli DM

Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz said on Sunday that Israel should explore the possibility of achieving peace deal with Syria.

Speaking to the Jewish Agency's Board of Governors in Jerusalem, Peretz said that "Israel needs to demonstrate its willingness to make painful concessions if our main interests are (to be) maintained," stressing that Israel has to be "ready for every scenario of military confrontation" with its neighbor along the northeast border.

Peretz noted that Syrian President Bashar Assad has recently made proposal of peace as well as threats of military confrontation in interviews with the international media.

However, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has dismissed Assad 's remarks about peace with Israel and declared that he would never give back the Golan Heights.

Peretz, in the meantime, stressed the need for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to take stronger action against the Qassam rockets plaguing the western Negev that borders the Gaza Strip.

Peretz also said that the IDF would act against all Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip whenever a rocket would be fired from the area.

"The moment it's fired into Israel, the army will act against all terror organizations without differentiating who it belonged to," Peretz added.

Source: Xinhua