"I am the President of Israel and I have the authority to invite foreign Presidents to come to Israel," Katsav

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, January 12 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Israeli President Moshe Katsav Monday, January 12, invited his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad to visit this occupied Palestinian city to "start" talks on a peace accord, with no preconditions.

"I am the President of Israel and I have the authority to invite foreign Presidents to come to Israel," Ha’aretz daily quoted Katsav as telling the Israeli public radio.

"I invite President Assad to come to [occupied] Jerusalem to seriously negotiate with Israeli leaders on the conditions of a peace accord, if that is his wish," he said.

"There is no doubt that President Assad is in severe trouble, and his intentions aren't pure. but we must seriously examine his proposal to renew negotiations with Israel in a direct meeting and not through the media," he added.

Katsav further said that the Syrian leader is welcome without "preconditions".

Syrian officials were not available for comment to IslamOnline.net on the statements.

In early December, Assad told the New York Times that he was ready to "resume" negotiations with Israel "where they broke off in 2000".

During the previous talks with former Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, Bashar's father, then Israeli Premier Ehud Barak agreed to an almost total withdrawal from the Golan Heights, save for a narrow strip of land bordering the eastern bank of the Sea of Galilee, which was rebuffed by Syria.

The Heights were occupied by Israel during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and were re-occupied in 1981.

They are a grassy plateau overlooking north-eastern Israel and south-east Syria and have important water resources - providing Israel with a third of its water needs.

The invitation came as Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom revealed Monday that Israel had secret contacts with Syria several months ago, but they broke down after word of the meetings leaked out, according to the Associated Press (AP).

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Sunday, January 11, that he was ready to forge peace with the Palestinians and Syrians but only if they were prepared to show a willingness to bring an end to what he said "terrorism", reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

"Israel is ready and willing to negotiate once Syria stops its help to terror," he said, referring to Damascus's backing for Palestinian resistance movements including Hamas and Islamic Jihad and the Lebanese Hezbollah.

In an interview with the British Daily Telegraph January 5, Assad said his country had every right to acquire deterrent weapons as long as Israel was adamant about scrapping its undeclared and increasingly growing nuclear arsenal.

The relations between both countries hit all time low last November when Israel hit suspected Palestinian bases deep inside the Syrian mainland.