JERUSALEM, March 10 (UPI) -- "The murder of Yitzhak Rabin prevented a peace deal between Israel and Syria," said Abed al-Halim Khadem, former Syrian vice president on Friday.
Israeli Prime Minister Rabin and the late Syrian President Hafez Assad had been very close to reaching an agreement, Khadem told the Nazareth daily, Al-Sinara.
Now in exile in France, Khadem has unleashed unprecedented attacks on the Syrian regime and current President Bashar Assad, reported The Jerusalem Post.
In January, Khadem accused Assad of being responsible for the assassination of former Lebanese President Rafik al-Harir. "Assad's regime has already begun to fall," Khadem said, "and I don't believe his regime will last past the end of this year."
Khadem has announced his intention to lead a revolution to bring about Assad's ouster.
Following those public statements, the Syrian parliament decided unanimously to put the former vice president on trial for high treason.
