Israel Warns Damascus against Any Attack by Hizbullah
Israel warned on Thursday Syria of any attack carried out by Hizbullah against the Jewish state in the coming days to respond to an expected Western attack, saying that is Damascus will be held responsible.
“They cannot play the game that Hizbullah is somehow an independent actor,” the Jerusalem Post quoted an Israeli official as saying.
The official said that Hizbullah is coordinating very closely with the regime of President Bashar Assad and “it is the Iranians that have orchestrated that close cooperation.”
“We will respond forcefully, and we won’t hold by artificial differentiations,” the official stressed.
Momentum has been building for international action against Syrian President Assad's regime after the suspected chemical strikes on August 21, which are said to have killed hundreds on the outskirts of Damascus.
The five permanent members of the Security Council failed on Wednesday to reach an agreement on a U.N. Security Council resolution proposed by Britain that could have given a legal basis for an assault, owing it to Russian opposition.
But the Syrian government, which is backed by Hizbullah members in its fight against the armed opposition, accused rebels of using the chemical weapons.
“Hizbullah works hand-in-glove with the Assad regime,” the official told the newspaper.
He pointed out that Hizbullah “is fully coordinated with the Syrian regime and with the Iranians, and they cannot pretend to be acting in a vacuum. They cannot pretend that they are not part of an alliance. And they cannot claim that others in the alliance are not responsible.”
Assad regime has warned Washington not to launch any military action, saying such a move would set the Middle East ablaze.
Syria is intertwined in alliances with Iran, Hizbullah and Palestinian militant groups. The country also borders its longtime foe and U.S. ally Israel, making the fallout from military action unpredictable.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement telling Israelis that, after discussions Wednesday on the security situation, there was "no need to change their daily habits."
"At the same time, we are ready for all scenarios," the premier added. "The Israeli army is ready to defend against all threats and respond firmly to any attempt to harm Israeli citizens."
The Israeli cabinet authorized on Wednesday a partial call-up of army reservists amid growing expectations of a foreign military strike on neighboring Syria, army radio reported.
The unspecified number of troops are attached to units stationed in the north of the country, which borders both Lebanon and the Golan Heights, seized from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War, it said.
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