calling

Once upon a time, a Syrian president calling for peace talks would have been met by Israeli leaders rolling out the red carpet.

But Bashar Assad\’s recent overtures toward Israel, first made in an interview with The New York Times, have failed to excite Israeli decision-makers.

The chief of Israel\’s military intelligence branch, Maj. Gen. Aharon Farkash Ze\’evi, says Assad is serious and should be put to the test, but Prime Minister Ariel Sharon doubts the Syrian leader\’s sincerity and questions whether giving up the strategic Golan Heights in return for peace with Syria is as much in Israel\’s interest as it once was.