Israel expressed doubts about Syria’s intention to close down the offices of Palestinian hardline groups based in Damascus, after US Secretary of State Colin Powell said Damascus had started cracking down. “Israel has been saying for a long time that Syria has been hosting terrorist organisations. It’s a good step by the United States to try to put an end to this. The future will tell but I have my doubts,” one foreign ministry official told AFP Sunday. The top-selling Yediot Aharonot newspaper was even more sceptical in its editorial. “The chances of a resumption of negotiations between Israel and Syria are minimal. There’s not even a question of it happening at the momment,” said a senior offical quoted by the paper. US Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs William Burns, who arrived in Israel Sunday morning, was to brief the Israeli side of Powell’s talks in Syria with President Bashar al-Assad, officials said. Yediot quoted senior unnamed officials as saying that “there is no basic change in the position of the Syrian president, although certain signs indicate he has understood the gravity of the US warnings.” Full Story
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