In an exclusive statement to Asharq Al-Awsat, a senior Israeli government diplomat said that the new-old Israeli Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, is coming under great pressure from abroad to move forward in the Palestinian negotiations on the basis of a two-state solution. He added that Netanyahu intends to circumvent this principle and to take a new approach that might be surprising. He said that Netanyahu is currently wavering between moving on the Syrian track and proceeding to negotiations over a comprehensive regional settlement ending the three Syrian, Lebanese, and Palestinian dossiers.

Explaining the situation, this Israeli official said: Clearly, the Palestinian situation does not provide any opportunity for serious negotiations; the Palestinians are in disagreement. If a Palestinian party is found to sign [a peace agreement],Israel would have to negotiate with the other Palestinian parties and make concessions to them or continue the war. This is why the idea came up to settle the Syrian dossier. Netanyahu knows what Syria wants in return for peace.

In another development, Dr Nabil al-Sharif, Jordanian minister of state for information affairs and official spokesman for the Jordanian government, has confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that weapons were smuggled via the Wadi Araba Crossing, south of Jordan, to Israel. He told Asharq Al Awsat that a high-level committee was formed by the security agencies to uncover the source of these weapons and the goals of the perpetrators.