RAMALLAH, Jan. 10 (JMCC) - Nobody should underestimate the power of the Syrian regime, writes professor Elias Samo.

As for Syrian-Israeli relations, Damascus feels it sits on top of the region while some Israeli leaders are reluctant to leave home for fear of arrest for their war crimes in Gaza. It was just a few years ago when Syria was an international outcast while Israel was pulling the strings in Washington, Europe and some Arab states. Today, Damascus has become a Mecca for western officials while the Israelis are shunned worldwide. True, the Golan has not been recovered and the resumption of the peace process is not in sight, but just as Israel is content with the status quo, so is Syria--until a miracle in the holy land of miracles moves Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu to seriously resume negotiations with Syria over the few issues of contention remaining after previous Israeli governments settled most of them with Damascus.

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