Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday warned Syrian President Bashar Assad that Israel would respond forcefully if any attempt to harm the country is detected.
“The State of Israel is ready for any scenario. We are not part of the civil war in Syria but if we identify any attempt whatsoever to harm us, we will respond and we will respond in strength,” Netanyahu said after a meeting with his security advisers, his second in as many days.
The prime minister’s pointed remarks were the latest in a string of saber-rattling statements issued by Jerusalem and Damascus, with both sides threatening military action if they were struck.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem said in a press conference earlier on Tuesday that Syria would fight back in case of a US strike, and Khalaf Muftah, a senior Baath Party official, said Monday that Damascus would consider Israel “behind the [Western] aggression and [it] will therefore come under fire.”
“We have strategic weapons and we’re capable of responding,” Muftah said. “Normally the strategic weapons are aimed at Israel.” » | Times of Israel Staff | Tuesday, August 27, 2013
