JERUSALEM, June 3: Israeli deputy prime minister Shaul Mofaz, who hopes to replace the embattled premier, said on Tuesday he opposed any withdrawal from the annexed Golan Heights as part of a peace deal with Syria.

“Syrians are not ripe for peace today. Giving the Golan plateau to the Syrians... would mean having Iran here,” Mofaz, who is also transport minister and a former army chief, told journalists.

Syria and Israel announced last month that they had resumed indirect peace negotiations through Turkish mediators, ending an eight-year freeze.

The Syrians want the return of all of the Golan Heights which Israel seized in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in 1981, a move never recognised by the international community.

“I believe we can reach arrangements over the Golan that would enable a peace accord in the long term, without giving up this asset,” Mofaz said during a visit to the area.

Mofaz urged Israelis to join the 20,000 settlers living in the Golan, adding: “I intend to come live here with my family.” Mofaz hopes to become the Kadima party candidate to replace Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who faces allegations of corruption that have spurred calls for his resignation.—AFP