Syria has threatened that it will attack Israel if another raid occurs on Syrian land.
JERUSALEM/MADRID (Reuters) - Syria’s ambassador to Spain said on Wednesday Damascus would respond militarily against Israel if the Jewish state carried out new attacks on Syrian territory.A senior Israeli security source swiftly dismissed the threat, saying Israel did not want to escalate tensions and believed Syria did not want to start a war. The source said the envoy’s statement was mainly intended to impress the Arab world.
But the comments increased tensions simmering since Israel carried out an air strike on Sunday on what it said was a training camp for Palestinian militants near Damascus, one day after a Palestinian suicide bombing killed 19 people in Israel.
Syria says the target was a civilian site and has said it has the right to defend itself.
“If Israel attacks Syria one, two and three times, of course the people of Syria and the government of Syria and the army will react to defend ourselves,” Syrian Ambassador Mohsen Bilal told Reuters in Madrid.
Asked if that meant responding militarily, he said: “By all means. If Israel continues to attack us and continues its aggression of course we shall react to the attacks in spite of the fact that we are fighting for peace and wish to reopen the (1991) Madrid (peace) conference.”
Israel did not immediately respond formally to the envoy’s remarks.
But the senior Israeli security source said: “This sort of statement is intended mainly for the Arab world, to give the impression Syria is steadfast in the fight against Israel.
Yeah, and Al-Qaeda and the Taliban have the “right” to defend themselves against the attacks of the United States. (Give me a break.)
