Post by Salem6 on Oct 7, 2003 12:03:14 GMT
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has accused Israel of trying to drag Syria and the rest of the Middle East into a wider conflict following its air strike inside Syrian territory.
It was the Syrian leader's first comments since the raid on an alleged Palestinian training camp near Damascus at the weekend.
But Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon responded by saying Israel would not hesitate to strike at its enemies wherever they were.
Damascus is further considering the text of a draft resolution to condemn the raid after it failed to get the support of the United Nations Security Council on Monday.
Tension has also risen on the border between Lebanon and Israel since the strike. An Israeli soldier has been killed in a firefight and Lebanese boy died when a missile fell on his house in a border village.
[The raid] is an attempt by the Israeli Government to extract itself from its big crisis by trying to terrorise Syria and drag it and the region into other wars
President Assad
Israel said it targeted the alleged militant camp in Syria in response to a suicide bomb attack on Saturday in the Israeli town of Haifa, which left 19 dead.
Syria denies the target was a training camp and has called on the United Nations to condemn the Israeli action as "military aggression".
"[The raid] is an attempt by the Israeli Government to extract itself from its big crisis by trying to terrorise Syria and drag it and the region into other wars because this [Israeli] government is one of war and war is the justification for its existence," Mr Bashar told international Arabic daily newspaper al-Hayat in an interview published on Tuesday.
He also said Syria's role in the region was upsetting Israel, but he added that Sunday's raid would only make Syria more determined to assume this role in the Middle East.
President Assad added that the United States should stop blaming Syria for all its failures, including in Iraq.
Tough stance
But Mr Sharon, who like Mr Assad was making his first public comments since the air raid, took a tough line.
"Israel will not be deterred from protecting its citizens and will strike its enemies in every place and in every way," he said at a memorial service for Israeli soldiers killed during the 1973 Middle East war.
He also said Israel was open to peace overtures: "We will not miss any openings or opportunities to reach an arrangement with our neighbours and comprehensive peace."
The White House has refused to condemn the Israeli strike and accuses Damascus of being "on the wrong side of the war on terror".
Another dozen victims of the Haifa suicide bomb, among them members of two families, are to be buried in Israel later on Tuesday.
Of the 60 people wounded in the attack, 25 are still in hospital, Israel's Haaretz newspaper reports.
Attack
On Tuesday, Israel's military said an Israeli soldier was killed in an attack on a border patrol by the Lebanese militants Hezbollah near the town of Metulla on Monday.
The soldier was the first Israeli casualty on the northern border since August.
"Syria is responsible for what's happening here, by letting the terror groups act freely," said Major General Benny Gantz.
But Hezbollah - backed by Syria and Iran - denied it was involved in the incident, while Lebanese officials said the shooting had not begun on their side, maintaining that Israeli troops fired at two vehicles on a road in the south of the country.
A four-year-old Lebanese boy died in the Lebanese village of Houla early on Tuesday, but it was unclear whether the explosion was caused by anti-aircraft fire or a missile aimed at Israel falling short of its target.
The Israeli army said that three shells were fired at its positions, and sent jets and helicopter gunships over the border on reconnaissance missions.
It was the Syrian leader's first comments since the raid on an alleged Palestinian training camp near Damascus at the weekend.
But Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon responded by saying Israel would not hesitate to strike at its enemies wherever they were.
Damascus is further considering the text of a draft resolution to condemn the raid after it failed to get the support of the United Nations Security Council on Monday.
Tension has also risen on the border between Lebanon and Israel since the strike. An Israeli soldier has been killed in a firefight and Lebanese boy died when a missile fell on his house in a border village.
[The raid] is an attempt by the Israeli Government to extract itself from its big crisis by trying to terrorise Syria and drag it and the region into other wars
President Assad
Israel said it targeted the alleged militant camp in Syria in response to a suicide bomb attack on Saturday in the Israeli town of Haifa, which left 19 dead.
Syria denies the target was a training camp and has called on the United Nations to condemn the Israeli action as "military aggression".
"[The raid] is an attempt by the Israeli Government to extract itself from its big crisis by trying to terrorise Syria and drag it and the region into other wars because this [Israeli] government is one of war and war is the justification for its existence," Mr Bashar told international Arabic daily newspaper al-Hayat in an interview published on Tuesday.
He also said Syria's role in the region was upsetting Israel, but he added that Sunday's raid would only make Syria more determined to assume this role in the Middle East.
President Assad added that the United States should stop blaming Syria for all its failures, including in Iraq.
Tough stance
But Mr Sharon, who like Mr Assad was making his first public comments since the air raid, took a tough line.
"Israel will not be deterred from protecting its citizens and will strike its enemies in every place and in every way," he said at a memorial service for Israeli soldiers killed during the 1973 Middle East war.
He also said Israel was open to peace overtures: "We will not miss any openings or opportunities to reach an arrangement with our neighbours and comprehensive peace."
The White House has refused to condemn the Israeli strike and accuses Damascus of being "on the wrong side of the war on terror".
Another dozen victims of the Haifa suicide bomb, among them members of two families, are to be buried in Israel later on Tuesday.
Of the 60 people wounded in the attack, 25 are still in hospital, Israel's Haaretz newspaper reports.
Attack
On Tuesday, Israel's military said an Israeli soldier was killed in an attack on a border patrol by the Lebanese militants Hezbollah near the town of Metulla on Monday.
The soldier was the first Israeli casualty on the northern border since August.
"Syria is responsible for what's happening here, by letting the terror groups act freely," said Major General Benny Gantz.
But Hezbollah - backed by Syria and Iran - denied it was involved in the incident, while Lebanese officials said the shooting had not begun on their side, maintaining that Israeli troops fired at two vehicles on a road in the south of the country.
A four-year-old Lebanese boy died in the Lebanese village of Houla early on Tuesday, but it was unclear whether the explosion was caused by anti-aircraft fire or a missile aimed at Israel falling short of its target.
The Israeli army said that three shells were fired at its positions, and sent jets and helicopter gunships over the border on reconnaissance missions.