111.   Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won May elections on a platform ruling out any return of the strategic plateau.

112.   Israel and Syria resumed preliminary talks in December, six months after discussions broke down over disagreements on the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau that overlooks northern Israel.

113.   Israel proposed a phased withdrawal over nearly five years without specifying the depth of the pullout from the strategic plateau.

114.   Israel wanted to place early warning stations on the strategic plateau in the event of a withdrawal, but Syria refused in favour of air surveillance.

115.   Israel wants a prior commitment from Syria for full peace with diplomatic relations, open borders and trade before it pledges any withdrawal from the strategic plateau.

116.   Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is refusing to implement any pledge from the previous labor government to withdraw from the strategic plateau.

117.   Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin renewed Monday his pledge to hold a referendum, the first in Israel, before any significant withdrawal takes place on the strategic plateau.

118.   Negotiations were deadlocked because Syria demanded a total Israeli withdrawal from the strategic plateau while Israel sought total normalization.

119.   Netanyahu, unlike Peres, has said he will not consider giving Syria back the strategic plateau, which overlooks northern Israel.

120.   Netanyahu is refusing to implement any pledge from the previous labor government to withdraw from the strategic plateau.