Agencies
Wednesday October 8, 2003
A Syrian ambassador today said that his country would respond with military action if Israel carried out any more attacks on Syrian territory.
Mohsen Bilal, Syria's ambassador to Spain, told Reuters: "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."
"If Israel continues to attack us ... of course we shall react to the attacks in spite of the fact that we are fighting for peace."
Israel today dismissed the threat, saying that it did not seek an escalation of tensions with Syria.
"This sort of statement is intended mainly for the Arab world, to give the impression Syria is steadfast in the fight against Israel," a senior Israeli security source said.
"Israel does not seek an escalation with Syria, and indeed has taken precautions to prevent that. We will act in self defence if necessary, but not if Damascus receives our message that it must stop supporting terror," the source said.
Mr Bilal's comments appeared to contradict the words of the Syrian president, Bashar Assad, who yesterday told the pan-Arab newspaper, Al-Hayat, that his government would not allow the attack to provoke a war between Syria and its rival, Israel.
"This attack was an attempt by the Israeli government to extract itself from its internal crisis by trying to terrorise Syria and drag it and the region into other wars," he said, adding that his regime would not yield to Israeli and US demands that it expel Palestinian groups from Syria.
The Israeli attack has put Mr Assad in a difficult position domestically. He is seeking a face-saving exit to avoid criticism that his army of more than 300,000 is unable to retaliate for Sunday's airstrike.
The strike hit what Israel maintained was a training camp for Islamic Jihad militants, about 15 miles from Damascus. Villagers said the camp belonged to Palestinian militants but had been abandoned years ago.
The attack came in response to the previous day's suicide bombing in Haifa, northern Israel, that killed at least 19 people. The Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.
Following the Israeli airstrike, the first attack deep into Syrian territory since the 1973 war, Syria presented a motion to the UN security council calling on the world body to condemn Israel, but the council postponed a vote.
The United States warned it would veto any motion that did not also condemn the suicide bombing, and later defended Israel's action against Syria.
The US president, George Bush, drew a parallel between Israel's actions and the US war on terrorism, saying that "we would be doing the same thing ... but we're also mindful when we make decisions, as the [Israeli] prime minister should be, that he fully understands the consequences of any decision".
Apparently bolstered by this, the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, yesterday said that he would not hesitate to attack Palestinian militants in neighbouring countries.
"Israel will not be deterred from protecting its citizens and will strike its enemies in every place and in every way," he said. "At the same time, we will not miss any opening and opportunity to reach an agreement with our neighbours and peace."
The US has also demanded that Syria expel alleged Palestinian militants living in the country. Mr Assad has responded by maintaining that the Palestinians are "officials" and not leaders of Palestinian militant groups.
"We have refused their expulsion for many reasons," he said. "Those people have not violated Syrian laws or harmed Syrian interests and they are not, above all, terrorists."
Washington maintains the Damascus-based leadership of Hamas and Islamic Jihad directs, finances and provides information to its counterparts in the Palestinian territories.
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