GOLAN HEIGHTS: ISRAELI MILITARY SKI-UNIT STAGE EXERCISES ON SNOW-BOUND GOLAN HEIGHTS.

Record ID: 399131

  • Title: GOLAN HEIGHTS: ISRAELI MILITARY SKI-UNIT STAGE EXERCISES ON SNOW-BOUND GOLAN HEIGHTS.
  • Date: 13th January 2000
  • Summary: MOUNT HERMON, GOLAN (JANUARY 12, 2000) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. MV: ISRAELI SOLDIER IN WINTER CLOTHING SHOOTING FROM CROUCHING POSITION IN SNOW 0.05 2. TV/PAN: ISRAELI SOLDIER SKIING DOWN SIDE OF MOUNTAIN, SHOOTING AS HE SKIS DOWNHILL 0.25 3. GV: ISRAELI SOLDIERS HIKING UP MOUNTAINSIDE (2 SHOTS) 0.44 4. LV/PAN: BORDER AREA WITH SNOW-C
  • Embargoed: 28th January 2000 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: JANUARY 12, 2000
  • Country: Syria
  • Reuters ID: LVA60EFTA8QA31C0R5F1R1JDMGZ1
  • Story Text: Members of a crack Israel ski unit have held an
    exercise in the snow-bound Golan Heights just days after the
    latest round of Israeli-Syrian peace talks ended in deadlock.

    But recreational skiers in the area said they would happily
    give up their skiing -- and the Golan -- if it would bring
    Israel peace.

    The Middle East is not the first place you'd look to
    find a ski unit, but on a snowy ridge overlooking Syria,
    Israel and Lebanon, Israeli soldiers from an elite unit have
    been holding exercises in military techniques on skis.

    The snowy ridge is on Mount Hermon, in the strategic
    Golan, an area held by Israel but claimed by Syria, and a
    crucial component of on-going peace talks between the two
    countries.

    The fate of the Golan Heights, captured by Israel from
    Syria in the 1967 Middle East war, is the make-or-break issue
    that will determine whether the two countries can forge peace
    after a half-century of conflict.

    Overlooking Israel's northern Galilee region and its
    largest reservoir, the strategic heights have been dubbed
    Israel's eyes and ears.

    While the snow looks very inviting, the area bristles with
    minefields from past wars and with early-warning systems that
    listen in from the slopes of Mount Hermon all the way to
    Damascus.

    And the Israeli army is making sure that bad weather
    doesn't affect its ability to defend the area despite any
    potential peace deal.

    "We are in charge of everything to do with the snow up
    here -- search and rescue operations, securing the ski resort,
    border patrols -- everything that needs to be done in the
    snow, that's what we are here for," said one skier.

    And given the strategic importance of the area, those
    duties sometime involve armed conflict.

    "There've been some incidents this year.A Hizbollah
    guerrilla tried to get across the border between Israel and
    Lebanon.Because Hermon is a kind of cross-roads between
    Syria, Israel and Lebanon.The three borders are meeting up
    here," explained an instructor from the unit.

    But despite the minefields, the military are not the only
    ones practicing in the snow.

    At the Mount Hermon Ski Resort, a single ski slope
    provides hundreds of eager skiers the chance to learn the
    ropes.

    Some of those skiers want the area to remain under Israeli
    control.But for others, a few weeks of skiing each year --
    and even giving back the entire Golan -- is a small price to
    pay for peace with Syria.


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