Tel Aviv Tightens Squeeze on Damascus

Seotember 3, 2004
By Patrick Anidjar
Agence France-Presse
 
A Palestinian family sit on their belongings in front of a destroyed apartment building in the Khan Younis refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, on Thursday (AP photo)

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — Israel tightened the squeeze on Damascus Thursday by threatening to launch strikes on Syria, taking advantage of growing pressure on Bashar Assad at the United Nations.

Despite denials by its northern neighbour's foreign minister that Syria had no involvement in a double Hamas suicide attack on Tuesday, Israeli Deputy Defence Minister Zeev Boim said it was important "to make the Syrians understand that there are red lines that cannot be crossed." The Hamas attacks in Beersheva, which left 16 people dead as well as the bombers, were the deadliest since a suicide bombing in the port city of Haifa last October.

Israel responded to that attack, carried out by the smaller Islamic Jihad organisation, with an air strike on an alleged Palestinian training camp deep inside Syria.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's government is furious that Syria continues to play host to top Hamas figures, such as Damascus-based politburo chief Khaled Mishaal.

It also believes that most of the attacks being carried out by Hamas are now being directed from Damascus, particularly since the assassination of two of the movement's Gaza-based leaders, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and Abdelaziz Rantissi, earlier this year.

"Israel has a long unsettled account with the Syrians," said the Yediot Aharonot daily's defence expert Alex Fishman.

"The fact that the leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad continue to reside in Damascus and to direct their organisations' activities in the territories is an act of provocation and a perpetual threat to Israel.

"Israel has struck at Hamas leaders in the territories, which increased the influence of the Hamas leadership abroad — mainly the leadership based in Damascus."

While a limited strike on its soil will inevitably be fiercely denounced by Syria, Israel may well be encouraged by Damascus' failure to retaliate to last October's air strike.

Israel will also hope that international condemnation is relatively muted at a time when Assad is becoming increasingly diplomatically isolated over his involvement in Lebanon's internal affairs.

The UN Security Council is expected to vote Thursday on a draft resolution presented by France and the United States calling for Lebanon's sovereignty to be respected.

The draft resolution comes as Lebanese legislators prepare to vote Friday on a controversial constitutional change demanded by political master Syria to allow pro-Damascus President Emile Lahoud to stand for another term.

Lebanon and Syria have already protested against the draft resolution.

The Bush administration's patience with Damascus wore thin long ago.

Washington imposed sanctions against Syria in May, accusing it of backing terrorists, seeking to produce weapons of mass destruction, undermining the stabilisation of Iraq and occupying Lebanon militarily.

Israel also wants to thwart the signing of an association accord between Syria and the European Union, which includes a clause on weapons on mass destruction.

Syria wants the agreement to include a clause that all Middle Eastern states should be free of weapons of mass destruction — including Israel.

Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom was due to hold talks Thursday with his Dutch counterpart, Bernard Bot, whose country is the current chairman of the revolving EU presidency, to push his message against Syria.

According to Reuven Paz, an Israeli expert on Hamas and Syria, Sharon's government wants to generate as much international heat on Syria as possible.

"The interest of Israel is thus: Try to take advantage of the international context, try to obtain sanctions against Syria and prevent the accord between Syria and the EU," he told AFP.

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