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LONDON -- A closed-door conference of opinion makers and officials from the Middle East - including Israelis, Syrians, and Palestinians - heard surprising readiness on the part of the Syrians to discuss border modifications in any peace deal with Israel involving a return of the Golan Heights.
In addition, one of British Prime Minister Tony Blair's closest advisers, MP Peter Mandelson, said the lines of a final peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians are well-known to all and that the mutual bloodshed will not change them, even if the violence continues for years to come. He said an international force, led by the Americans, not the United Nations, might be necessary to guarantee a ceasefire that could corral both sides into negotiations.
Mandelson, who as Secretary for Northern Ireland was involved in the peace negotiations there, said Israel and the Palestinians are closer to a final accord than the Irish, since the Irish agreed to postpone a final agreement until a plebiscite is held. Meanwhile, the...