MIDEAST . . . OFF ON THE WRONG FOOT

Syria rejected an Israeli demand for athree-year test of peaceful relations before it withdraws from the Golan Heights, then suggested that Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was seeking toundermine peace talksscheduled for June 27 in Washington. "Israel has resumed the policy of maneuvering and scattered the wave of optimism . . . and put all peace efforts exerted by the international community in jeopardy," Syria's official government daily, Tishrin, wrote today.TIME Jerusalem bureau chief Lisa Beyersays the statement contradicts positive signals that Syrian President Hafez Assad has sent through diplomatic channels in the wake of Secretary of State Warren Christopher's shuttle diplomacy last week.