It was not immediately clear whether Avi Dichter , the public security minister, on Monday expressed his personal views or spoke for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Israel captured the Golan from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War.

Asked by Israel Army Radio whether Israel should surrender the territory in exchange for a peace deal, Dichter referred to treaties with Egypt and Jordan in which Israel handed over all war-won land.

"What we did with Egypt and Jordan is also legitimate in this case," Dichter said. Asked whether that meant Israel should return to its international border with Syria, he said: "Yes".

Source:AP