Columbia International Affairs Online: Policy Briefs

CIAO DATE: 09/2009

A Renewable Energy Peace Park in the Golan as a Framework to an Israeli-Syrian Agreement

Yehuda Greenfield-Gilat

July 2009

United States Institute of Peace

Abstract

The widely discussed Syrian-Israeli peace park concept is rooted in the assumption that Syrian and Israeli "good will" for cooperation is sufficient to mobilize a long- lasting, firm peace treaty between the two countries. The current discussions on a layout for a peace park provide a description of the mechanisms that will control and maintain the park, but fail to provide the insights for how to keep these mechanisms functioning in one, five or ten years into the future. This paper argues that given the lack of stabilizing factors in an Israeli-Syrian partnership, even if negotiations succeed and an agreement is signed, the probability of failure during implementation is high.