Sometimes, it seems a country is just begging for attention.
Israel rattles its saber at Syria.
Israel ratcheted up its rhetoric against Syria today, hinting of possible military action following this week’s suicide bombing of two buses in southern Israel.
Israeli officials repeatedly have accused Syria of backing the Hamas militants who carried out Tuesday’s attack, which killed 16 people in Beersheba, 15 miles south of the West Bank. The Hamas leadership is based in the Syrian capital of Damascus.
“Syria is responsible for acts of terror and giving patronage to terror groups,†Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said today. “When we see Syria as responsible, it of course has to understand that this kind of thing will have very clear consequences for it.â€
Security sources said Israeli leaders have not begun discussing possible military actions against Syria and analysts said the two countries are not likely to go to war any time soon.
But Israeli officials are warning that they might move against Hamas leaders in Syria. The Damascus-based leadership’s influence has grown following Israel’s assassination of top Hamas leaders in Gaza.
Syria dismisses Israeli threats.
SYRIA today rejected Israeli threats of military strikes against it and denied any involvement in deadly bomb attacks in southern Israel this week.
“The Israeli threats against Syria are not based on any evidence and are completely lacking in credibility,” Syrian Foreign Minister Faruq al-Shara said, the official SANA news agency reported.
The U.S. and France demand Syria butts out of Lebanon.
The UN Security Council is due to vote on a draft resolution calling on Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon and respect Lebanese sovereignty.
Proposed by the US and backed by France, it accuses Syria of interfering in Beirut’s internal affairs.
Syria is pushing for an extension of President Emile Lahoud’s term, despite a constitutional bar on this.
Syria mocks U.S. interest in Lebanon.
Syria’s state media lashed out on Thursday at U.S. pressure for a United Nations resolution telling Damascus to stop interfering in Lebanon’s presidential election.
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“No one can believe that the United States can possibly be concerned about Lebanon or any other Arab country,” an editorial in the official Tishreen newspaper said. “American policies confirm just the opposite and point out that the present U.S. administration relies on a clear method of antagonism to Arabs.”