We previously wrote about the Golan here and here, but with Olmert’s confirmation that he has agreed to cede at least part, if not most, of the territory to Syria, it is time to re-visit the subject.

OK, so Olmert is a retard, but how little must he think of the Israeli people to try this fast one. The agreement calls for Syria to utter a cleverly crafted phrase, like “we denounce all terrorism” in exchange for the return of territory legitimately won by Israel in war – the time honored method of land transfer.

Every piece of land belonging to somebody today has at some time in the past been acquired through conquest. America is probably the only country to have paid for land in cash (Louisiana and Alaska). Historically, land has always been paid for in blood. That is just how it is. Anybody who tells you differently is either naive or lying. Anybody who tells you that times have changed is a fool or worse – a Liberal.

The Golan is strategically important. It gives Israel the high grounds overlooking Syria.

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Israeli soldiers died defending the territory in 1973.

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Here are some of their names for Olmert and others who read Hebrew to see.

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And here is a plaque just outside the gate of the memorial, promising to never forget.

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Translated by us as:

Against hundreds of tanks

They bravely stood

They knew that only with their bodies

They could defend

The villages of the Galil and the Golan

The Nation will not forget

Its brave heroes

And deeds of the sons

Will be enshrined for all generations

They fell but not in vain

Blessed be their memory

Olmert has forgotten and if he succeeds it would have all been in vain.

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) denied Wednesday a statement by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem to the effect that Damascus received commitments for an Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights up to the June 4, 1967 border during Turkish-brokered indirect talks.

“As Olmert has said in the past, Syria knows what Israel demands of it and Israel knows what Syria expects it to do,” officials in the PMO said.

“We received commitments for a withdrawal from the Golan to the June 4, 1967 line,” Moallem told AFP during a visit to Bahrain. “This is not new. It started since Rabin’s pledge [for a pullout] in 1993, and all subsequent Israeli prime ministers abided by it.”

Earlier, in a dramatic announcement, the PMO said that Israel and Syria have begun indirect peace talks. The announcement comes after months of reports of unofficial messages going back and forth from Jerusalem to Damascus through Turkey, and was simultaneously announced in Ankara and Damascus.

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One of the issues Turkey is trying to work out between Israel and Syria as a prelude to direct negotiations is whether a Syrian announcement of ending support for terrorism needs to precede an Israeli guarantee that it will withdraw from the Golan Heights in exchange for peace, Western diplomats said in late April.

According to the officials, one question being discussed in exchanges Turkey has carried between Jerusalem and Damascus over the last few months is what comes first; an Israeli announcement – in some yet-to-be-determined form – regarding withdrawal from the Golan, or a Syrian announcement of ending support for Hamas and Hizbullah.