Labor Party Knesset Member Isaac Herzog says Syrian opposition leaders have told him they want peace with Israel
after Syrian President Bashar Assad falls. 

Herzog said Wednesday that the Syrian opposition wants to "be friends" with Israel.  He refused to name his sources because he said they fear retribution by Assad.  He said they are aligned with the main rebel factions in Syria. 

There was no confirmation from the Syrian opposition figures to Herzog's remarks. 

MK Herzog, who currently serves on the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said Israel should supply medical and humanitarian assistance to the rebels. 

However, he ruled out military aid to rebels fighting President Assad's Alawite regime. 

Knesset Member Herzog, who met with Syrian exiles in Washington last year, already said previously that Israelis should listen to Syria's rebels and not rule out a future relationship. 

“We in Israel often complain that they don’t know us and don’t understand us.  We should know that we too do not possess sufficient understanding of our neighbors, and when it comes to Syria we see total ignorance," he said at the time. " Following these and other meetings, I can say that what’s happening there does not resemble any other change taking place in our region.  The Syrians are a secular nation comprising a fascinating coalition of ethnicities.” 

“In my view, following the Assad era there is a chance for positive processes vis-à-vis Israel as well, and they will require us to meet the challenge,” Herzog said.