In a May 31 interview with the London-based paper Asharq Al-Awsat, outgoing Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Moshe Yaalon said Israel can defend itself even after it withdraws from the Golan Heights. Though a number of Likud Knesset members have accused Yaalon of acting out of line by making such a bold statement, there appears to be a debate within Israeli policy-making circles over the costs and benefits of striking a deal with Syria over the Golan Heights. This view was expressed by Yahad Knesset member Ronen Bronfman, who said Israel's ability to achieve peace with the Arab world is more important than the Golan Heights. Israel seized the Golan territory — a plateau on the Lebanese, Syrian, Israeli and Jordanian borders — in the 1967 war; since then, the area has been the pillar of Syria's enmity with Israel.