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Apple transfer starts in rare Golan-Syria crossing Published Date: March 03, 2010 GENEVA: Up to 10,000 tons of apples are to be sent from Israeli-occupied Golan Heights to Syria, after long-time foes Israel and Syria approved the transfer, the international Red Cross said yesterday. "The transfer of apples across the demarcation line is one of the very few crossings that take place from the Golan into Syria proper," said the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in a statement. "The sale of fruit is the main source of income for the Syrian farmers of the Golan," added the relief agency. The transfer, which started yesterday, is expected to last around eight weeks. It will be the fifth such operation since 2005 as no transfer was made in 2008 due to a poor harvest. "The transfer of this year's harvest will be the largest in a series of such operations which began in 2005," said Marianne Gasser, the ICRC's head of delegation in Syria. "We hope it will help raise awareness of other humanitarian concerns-for example the fact that family members separated by the demarcation line cannot cross the gates to maintain family ties," she added. Israel occupied the Golan in the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed it in 1981 in a move never recognized by the international community. More than 18,000 Syrians, mostly Druze, an offshoot of Islam, are left from the Golan's original population of 150,000. The vast majority of the Druze have refused to take Israeli citizenship. The plateau which overlooks much of northern Israel is also home to nearly 20,000 Jewish settlers. Despite a 1949 armistice agreement, the two neighbors remain technically in a state of war. Meanwhile, Israel's prime minister says he won't pull out of a key part of the West Bank even if there's a peace agreement with the Palestinians. Benjamin Netanyahu was referring to the Jordan River Valley along the eastern border of the West Bank. Palestinians claim all of the West Bank as part of their future state. Netanyahu's pronouncement comes as the US is pushing hard to restart peace talks. Palestinians hesitate to negotiate because of Netanyahu's hardline attitudes and Israeli settlement construction. Netanyahu told a parliamentary committee Tuesday that the Jordan Valley's strategic importance makes it impossible for Israel to withdraw, according to a meeting participant who spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was closed. - Agencies [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
