United States Middle East Envoy William Burns met with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus last week. The two raised the possibility of renewed negotiations with Israel on the principle of Israeli land concessions in exchange for Syrian promises of peace. Assad said that he would only be willing to open negotiations if Israel unilaterally withdrew from the Golan Heights.
The body of missing IDF reservist Ronen Rozen, 33, of Netanya, was found on Saturday afternoon in Nahal Tzin in southern Israel. Rozen departed from his home on November 25, 2001 and disappeared ever since. Military police have launched an investigation.
Knesset minister Saleh Tarif traveled to Egypt today to visit imprisoned Israeli Druze Azam Azam. Conditions of Azam\'s confinement have worsened. Egypt jailed Azam, 39, five years ago on charges of spying for Israel.
A riot broke out in Be\'er Sheva\'s Eshel prison on Friday after an Arab inmate was placed in seclusion for delivering a sermon during an Islamic prayer service that expressed support for suicide bombing attacks against Israel. During the mayhem, fires were set and prison property was destroyed. The riots left one prison official injured, along with several inmates.
