Russia's Sputnik News Arabic reports that the Syrian opposition group "Salvation Front of Syria" is the first Syrian group to officially recognize Israel.
Fahed Al-Masri, the leader of the group but based out of Paris, has been making overtures to Israel for several months now. He's been on Israeli TV and spoke via satellite at the conference on Syria at Hebrew University last month.
Formerly spokesperson for the Free Syria Army, al-Masri was quoted as saying that in the "new Syria "that he wants to build, "we will not be hostile to Israel or any other country, and we welcome the return of Syrian Jews to Syria, even if they have Israeli nationality."
"The Syrian Jews holding Israeli citizenship would be a bridge to the Syrian people to the West," Al Masri said.
In December, al-Masri said that in his new Syria, the Golan would be returned but the Israelis who live there would become "peace ambassadors." He also said that the new Syria would give citizenship to its Palestinian residents.
This week his group issued a “Roadmap for peace between Syria and Israel “ that called for severing ties between Syria and Tehran.
Part of this publicity campaign is because that Al-Masri is hoping that Israel will take a public stand against Assad and put pressure on the regime that will help the opposition forces.
“Personally, I am ready for the risk [of assassination] if I have any role in achieving real peace between Syria and Israel and the end of Iranian domination over my country,” al-Masri told Media Line.
UPDATE: Al Masri visited here and posted the entire statement in the comments:
Roadmap for peace between Syria and Israel
Further to the open letter addressed by National Salvation Front in Syria, to the Israeli
people last month, we are pleased to offer our vision for the future of the relationship between Israel and Syria , the new Syria,which we hope and aim to be away from any conflicts,whether they are Arab crises, regional or international, and to focus on reconstruction, development, and building a culture of peace.
Security and stability of the State of Israel:
*The new Syria will not be hostile in anyway, to the State of Israel nor any State in the region, or international
*New Syria will not be, and in any case a base, a transit station nor will support or be a training center nor will allow arms , extremism and terrorism to cross its borders.
*The new Syrian state will not provide any facilities for any groups or military, nor acts of sabotage targeting the security and safety of Israel or any country from neighboring countries and Syria.
*There will never be in the new Syria nor on the territory , any foothold for any armed organizations targeting the securit y and safety of Israel or any country from neighboring countries and the world.
*The new Syria will not grant safe haven for all who plan or target the security and stability of Israel and the regional and international security and stability.
*The security and stability of Israel is necessarily linked to the departure of Assad and his regime and the return of security and stability to Syria in the presence of a strong authority to rule the state post-Assad in Damascus.
*Chaos, extremism and terrorism requires the rule of a military junta with strong support and resources and tools to govern the transitional period
*The transitional phase requires support and assistance of a joint Arab and Turkish forces to enter Syrian land under the care and supervision of the United Nations.
Palestinian issues:
•Palestinian refugees in Syria, will be Naturalized Syrian citizens.
*Palestinian refugee camps in Syria will be changed to residential areas and will be disarmed all Palestinian armed groups on Syrian territory
* All activities of any Palestinian organization is prohibited on the Syrian Territory, and in particular anti-Palestinian Authority, led by terrorist organizations Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
*We intend to resolve and prohibit the work and the activity of all Palestinian political organizations on Syrian territory . The diplomatic mission of the Palestinian Authority is the official Palestinian legitimacy and the only one to deal with.
*The new Syrian state and its institutions in relation to the Palestinian issue will confine only legitimate representative that internationally recognized as representative of Palestinian people.
Iran and its tools:
*The expulsion of all Iranian experts and military officers and security.
*The expulsion of all Iranian militias and subdued to Iran, such as Hezbollah and the Iraqi and Afghan militias and others.
*Expulsion of all Iranian diplomats and the closure of the Iranian embassy and cultural centers of Iran
*Closure and ban of all associations, organizations c reated by Iran in Syria since 1996
*Revocation of Syrian citizenship of all Iranians, Iraqis, Lebanese and others whom were granted by the Assad regime since 2003.
*All real estate and land that Iran obtained by force or by purchase from Syrian owners will be considered Syrian property and will be re-owned by the state.,
*Every legal action against the Iranian state and all its affiliated organizations will be considered to demand financial compensation for their participation in the fight against the Syrian people and the destruction of Syria.
* All agreements and treaties signed between the Assad regime and the Iranian regime will be cancelled and the new Syrian state will not assume any obligations as a result of cancelling of these agreements and treaties..
*Confiscation of all Iranian economic investments in Syria and making it property of the new Syrian state as part of the compensation to be paid by Iran to the new Syrian state as a result of their participation in the fight of the Syrian people and the destruction of Syria
*Prohibition of Hezbollah activity and all of Iran's militia on the Syrian territories as terrorist organizations
*Ban the transfer of arms through Syrian territory to Lebanon and the destruction of all secret tunnels
*Lebanese state bears full legal responsibility for the participation of Hezbollah in fighting the Syrian people and targeting of Syrian territory from Lebanese territory and to consider Hezbollah a partner in power in Lebanon.
*Iraqi state bears full legal responsibility for the participation of extremist sectarian Iraqi militias to fight the Syrian people and the targeting of Syrian territory from Iraqi territory even the Iranian Militia who partner in power in Iraq
*Ban the entry of Iranian citizens Syrian territory ,for religious or economic reasons, at least during the transitional era.
The Golan and Israeli peace:
Proceeding from the Rabin deposit and the Arab peace initiative:
*We recognize the state of Israel and we welcome Israel as a safe neighbor for us.
* We are not against giving any international guarantees requested by the Israeli people to live in security and safety, peace and stability as a nation.
*We intend to construct a new historical stage of re lationship between Syria and Israel , based on a culture of peace and cooperation and end the era of slogans and false illusions stage.
*We intend to Find a fair settlement on the Golan issue that satisfies both the Syrian and Israeli peoples.
*We intend to Jump in the relationship between Syria and Israel from the stage of hostility to friendship and alliance, cooperation and strategic relations phase.
* We intend to consider Golan Heights a garden of peace for the two peoples of Syria and Israel.
* We intend to consider Golan Heights an oasis of security and safety.
* All citizens in Golan Heights will be ambassadors of peace, coexistence and rapprochement between the two peoples, which is possible and acceptable now that Israel became a reality recognized by the world.
*Golan Heights is to be considered an oasis of investment projects and economic relations and joint cooperation and a target for tourism in the Middle East.
*We intend to Establish better relations and military and security cooperation, and economic, cultural, scientific and social development.
* We intend To call on Israel and Israeli companies to participate in an economic coalition of American -European aim of the reconstruction of Syria's oil and gas, energy, irrigation and water transport, tourism, telecommunications, agriculture, industry and commerce investment ,banking investment , projects investments.
Syrian Jews:
*Syrian Jews who emigrated to Israel or in the Diaspora are the true messengers of peace between the sta tes of Israel and Syria and their people and pillars to consolidate a culture of peace, development and cooperation and construction considerations.
* Syrian Jews will have the right to recover their property in Syria and to rebuild and take care of the Jewish temples in Syria.
*We intend To consider the Jewish heritage of religious, cultural and humanitarian and civilized in Syria as an integral part of the identity and heritage and the legacy of Syria and the identity and heritage of the entire region as well .
*We look forward to benefiting from the experience of the Jewish people in the pursuit of the Nazis to prosecute the Assad and his regime of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Army and security in the new Syria:
• To Rebuild national army, police and security forces on a professional basis.
•To Ensure the Syrian border security.
• To Adjust the internal situation.
•To fight against extremism and terrorism.
•To Restore Security and stability
*To support the construction and development process and the return of Syrian refugees from neighboring countries.
• The army and the security in the new Syrian state will not interfere or involve in any conflict outside Syria's borders.
• The Syrian army will be armed with defensive weapons to be able to achieve internal security and stability.
• The Syrian army will not possess any kind of internationally prohibited weapons.
• The length of compulsive military service will not exceed six months only to ensure the support of the national army in the fight against extremism and terrorism and restoring security and stability.
We call on Israel and all regional actors to the formation of the regional security council under the auspices of the United Nations where all the regional parties will sit together for better understanding and coordination on interests in the rest of the region. This could dissolve the bulk of the problems and put an end to bloodshed and destruction cycle in the the rest of the Middle East conflict.
We call on the State of Israel to carry out practical steps, to address the Syrian people in clear speech to emphasize that the State of Israel rejects the Holocaust statements in Syria and the continuing massacres against humanity and war crimes carried out by the Assad regime in collaboration with the Iranian ally and militias affiliated to them.
We, the National Salvation Front in Syria, which includes a selection of military and civilian elites carrying a national project for new to Syria, Syria, the future of each of their children and without any discrimination in rights and duties ,approach the Israeli people with a message of love, peace and affirm that the vision of new Syrian state will always be about re building human, land, development and culture of peace.
Fahad ALMASRI
National Salvation Front in Syria
Founder ـ General Coordinator
Paris 0033667474703
almasrifahad@gmail.com