Israeli Deputy Prime Minister: Don’t Give Iran a Foothold on Golan Heights

Israeli deputy prime minister and defense minister, Shaul Mofaz, a former army chief of General Staff, said on Tuesday that Israel should not cede the Golan Heights to Syria because it would become a platform for Iran. The comments made by Mofaz to Army Radio place him at odds with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who recently reiterated that he was willing to withdraw from the Golan in return for peace with Syria. But that line of thought has angered many Israelis who formerly supported withdrawing from Golan because of Syria‘s alliance with Iran, as well as Iran‘s active pursuit of nuclear weapons and its president’s constant talk of destroying the Jewish state. Mofaz said on-air that, "Syria is part of the front of extremists, which means that after any transfer of the Golan, Iran will get a foothold in the Golan, a strategic region."