In early September, Syrian President Bashar Assad told the German magazine Der Spiegel that he wanted to sit at the negotiating table with Israel. “We want peace—peace with Israel,” he told the German weekly. Syria has continued to face accusations from the US and Israel of providing material and symbolic support to Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement and harboring leaders of the Palestinian Islamic group Hamas.

The peace process between Syria and Israel came to a halt in 2000. Syria continues to demand the return of the Golan Heights, captured by Israel in the 1967 War and eventually annexed to the Jewish state for “security purposes.” Many members of the international community opposed Israel’s decision to annex the occupied territory.

In an interview with the BBC on Monday, Assad reiterated his readiness for talks with Israel, but suggested that Olmert and his government may not have the strength or the will to move toward peace.

On Wednesday, Vice Premier Shimon Peres indirectly extended an invitation to Assad to come to Jerusalem, saying that if the Syrian president were serious about negotiations with Israel, he should seek to address the Knesset.

“If Assad said ‘I am coming to the Knesset’ would anyone stop him?”

“He needs to say ‘I want to speak with Israel about peace. That is it. I want to meet” Peres said in a statement on Israel Radio.

The government, however, has been less receptive to Assad’s overtures for peace—which it views as ploy to eschew international pressures and help return the isolated regime into the good graces of the international community. Some Israelis, however, warn that Olmert could be making a huge mistake by ignoring Assad.

“Olmert could have gone down in history as Menachem Begin, who gave Sinai back to Egypt. Instead, he is reacting to Syria’s offers of peace with contempt, loathing and threats,” wrote journalist Tom Segev in Tuesday’s Haaretz.

Given Olmert’s political weakness following the Lebanon debacle, many analysts do not think Olmert has the political clout—or the political incentives—to enter into a dialogue with Syria.

"I think that Olmert either doesn't want to pay the price — and the price is known to everyone, the price is the Golan Heights — or he thinks that he is too weak to pay the price," said Shlomo Brom, a Syria expert at Tel Aviv University.

Right now, Olmert is working to rebuild his reputation among Israelis, and one of his methods has been making strong statements regarding Syria and the Golan Heights.

“As long as I am prime minister, the Golan Heights will remain in our hands,” he told the ultr-Othadox weekly Mishpaha last month.

Assad is also no stranger to political troubles on the home front. A failed attempt to attack the American Embassy in Damascus last month raised new questions regarding the strength of Assad’s grip on Syrian society. While this attack targeted a symbol of American presence in the Middle East, the fact that it was nearly successful suggests Assad may be losing complete control of his own country.

According to Israeli officials, Assad is only seeking peace in so far as it can help him maintain power in Syria, and bolster his reputation internationally.

"He is isolated. He is beleaguered. He is controversial, internationally speaking. He hopes to reap dividends from adopting a peaceful posture," said Itamar Rabinovich, Israel's former chief negotiator with Syria.