| Author | Message | | Alpha | | Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2005 12:41 pm Post subject: Israel Says Will Strike Syria if Needed |
| Israel Says Will Strike Syria if Needed
2 hours, 2 minutes ago
By JOSEF FEDERMAN, Associated Press Writer
JERUSALEM - Israel's defense minister on Saturday blamed Syria and a Palestinian militant group based there for a suicide bombing that killed four Israelis outside a Tel Aviv nightclub and shattered an informal truce, prompting him to freeze plans to hand over security responsibilities in the West Bank. Syria denied the charges.
Israel has attacked Syrian targets in the past and will do so again if it deems necessary, another senior Israeli defense official said Sunday. Deputy Defense Minister Zeev Boim said Israel will attack Syrian targets if it feels that is the way to stop attacks that originate in Damascus.
The suicide bombing, which broke two weeks of relative calm, has threatened to derail an informal cease-fire declaration by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites) and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. It also could spark new tensions between longtime foes Israel and Syria.
Abbas angrily accused a "third party" of orchestrating Friday's attack to sabotage the Mideast peace process, and his security officials said the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah, which is backed by Syria and Iran (news - web sites), was involved.
In Beirut, Hezbollah, denied the accusations, and Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian militant group with members in Lebanon and Syria, claimed responsibility, reversing initial denials by its members in the Palestinian territories.
The conflicting accounts created a rare sense of mystery around the attack, which also wounded dozens.
In the past, militant groups have been quick to praise their members for carrying out deadly bombings. But Islamic Jihad waited nearly 24 hours to claim the attack outside a crowded nightclub. The delay raised speculation among Palestinian officials that Islamic Jihad was acting on behalf of Hezbollah.
If the bombing had been planned by militants in the Palestinian territory, Abbas would be under tremendous pressure to crack down. But since it looked as if the bombing was linked to Islamic Jihad in Syria, and perhaps inspired by Hezbollah, Israel was likely to give him more leeway.
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz blamed Syria after meeting with senior security commanders late Saturday in Tel Aviv. "The defense minister ruled that Israel sees Syria and the Islamic Jihad movement are those standing behind the murderous attack in Tel Aviv," a statement from Mofaz's office said.
The Bush administration strongly condemned the bombing and welcomed the Palestinian leadership's response.
"Such brutal attacks that kill and wound innocent Israelis cannot be tolerated by the Israeli people. Nor should they be tolerated by the Palestinian people, for such attacks undermine their hopes for a better future," the White House said in a statement.
U.S. officials have been in touch with the Palestinians "to urge immediate and credible action" to determine who is behind this terrorist act and to bring them to justice," according to the statement.
Israel and the United States have demanded that Syria close the headquarters of Palestinian militant groups in Damascus and end its support for other militant organizations.
Syria also faces pressure to withdraw troops from Lebanon amid accusations it was behind a massive bombing on Feb. 14 that killed former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 16 other people. Syria has denied involvement in the slayings.
Israeli security officials said the country had no immediate plans to attack Syria but will launch a diplomatic effort in hopes of winning U.N. condemnation of Damascus. In 2003, Israeli warplanes bombed an Islamic Jihad base in Syria in retaliation for a suicide bombing that killed 19 people at a restaurant.
Syria quickly rejected the charges. Damascus "had nothing to do with the Tel Aviv operation and that this (Islamic Jihad) movement's office is closed in Syria," a foreign ministry official told reporters on condition of anonymity.
Israeli security officials said they might resume assassinating Islamic Jihad leaders in the Palestinian territories because the informal truce no longer applied to them.
Such a move, which Israel recently agreed to halt as part of a reinvigorated peace process after the death of Yasser Arafat (news - web sites) and the election of Abbas, would likely mean the end of the carefully crafted Feb. 8 cease-fire.
In a further strain, Mofaz froze plans to withdraw troops from five West Bank towns and hand over security responsibilities to the Palestinians. The handover was among the most significant gestures by Israel after the cease-fire.
In the West Bank, Abbas met earlier Saturday with security officials and Cabinet ministers to discuss a response to the attack. He also reiterated his support for the truce and said he was exchanging information with Israel, the United States and Europe.
"We believe there is a third party that wants to sabotage this process, and to harm our people and our national goals," Abbas said. "We will not hesitate to track them down and bring them to justice and punish them."
Abbas didn't elaborate on the third party, but Palestinian officials said he was referring to Hezbollah. Security officials have said the guerrilla group is the biggest threat to the cease-fire.
Abbas said the major Palestinian militant groups — Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades — had all condemned the attack. But late Saturday, Islamic Jihad, which is based in Syria, posted an announcement on its Web site claiming responsibility.
The claim was attributed to the Al-Quds Brigades, the group's military arm. It identified the attacker as Abdullah Saeed Badran, 21, from near the West Bank town of Tulkarem.
The statement said the group carried out the attack after the expiration of a monthlong pause in a period of "calm" that it had promised to the Palestinian Authority (news - web sites). The Arab TV station Al-Jazeera also aired a videotape Saturday showing a man claiming to be Badran vowing to carry out the attack.
"Let the Zionists know that they will not have security. Their houses and their cities' streets will not be safe because this country is not your country. Get out of it," the man said.
Badran, a university student, was a devout Muslim but had no history of militant activity, his parents said.
In a phone call from Lebanon, an official from the Syria-based leadership of the Islamic Jihad militant group also claimed responsibility for the bombing.
A senior Palestinian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, disputed the claim, saying Hezbollah was responsible for arming the bomber and giving the orders for the attack. He also accused Hezbollah of persuading Islamic Jihad to accept responsibility to deflect attention.
Palestinian police have arrested two suspects with ties to Islamic Jihad. Israeli forces also arrested two of the bomber's brothers and four neighbors in his home village, including the local mosque preacher. The alleged driver who transported the bomber was also arrested.
In contrast to the dozens of previous suicide bombings, no celebrations were held in the West Bank on Saturday and militant groups didn't hang the customary posters of congratulations at the bomber's home. Many residents expressed anger.
"If Hezbollah was behind this attack, I as a Palestinian tell them, 'Deal with your own problems and stay out of ours,'" said Akram Abu Sbaa, 38, a resident of the West Bank town of Jenin.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Israel may start bombing Syria (right in accordance with the 'A Clean Break' Zionist neocon agenda mentioned in this message thread):
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/02/28/1456219
Last edited by Alpha on Mon Feb 28, 2005 7:43 pm; edited 1 time in total | |  | | Alpha | | | | Alpha | | | | Alpha | | Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2005 11:58 am Post subject: Re: My Analysis |
| dirtyharriet0 wrote:
Iran's Supreme National Security Council chief Hasan Rohani said his country will stand by Syria if the Arab state is attacked.
"We have always maintained excellent relations with Syria, and in case it is attacked, it can always depend on the solidarity of its friends, and Iran is a faithful friend," Rohani was quoted as saying Friday in French daily Le Monde.
Asked to comment on the possibility of an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, Rohani said: "I do not believe Israel will take such a decision, and if it did it will regret it a lot."
"If they threaten us we will threaten them," he said, adding, "If Israeli planes can reach Iran, Iranian planes can also reach Israel."
http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/?sid=7990dd67850fb6cf
_________________
The Expulsion of the Palestinians, 1947-1948 - http://www.robincmiller.com/pales2.htm
News - http://www.astandforjustice.org | | | | Alpha | | | | Alpha | | | | Alpha | | Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2005 8:30 am Post subject: US Gives Israel 'Go-Ahead' To Strike Syria |
| US Gives Israel 'Go-Ahead'
To Strike Syria
Aljazeera.com
3-2-5
Bush's administration gave Israel the go-ahead to attack Syria in retaliation to Tel Aviv bombing that took place last weekend, killing 5 Israelis, the Hebrew daily 'Yediot Ahronot' reported.
Also, the U.S. didn't ask Tel Aviv to exercise self restraint, as in past cases vis-à-vis the Palestinian commando raids, the newspaper added.
'Yediot Ahronot', moreover, said that the Israeli ambassador to Washington discussed with a senior U.S. official intelligence information obtained by the Israeli intelligence service claiming that Jihad Resistance Movement had masterminded the Tel Aviv blast from inside Damascus.
In his meeting with his Belgian counterpart in the occupied Jerusalem, the Israeli foreign minister Silvan Shalom said he had tabled an official request to the Belgian government to include the Lebanese Hezbollah Movement in the European list of "terror groups".
The Israeli chief diplomat claimed that Hezbollah was financially supporting the Palestinian resistance groups and planning various military attacks targeting the Israeli occupation forces.
Washington has stepped up its pressure against Damascus, calling on it to immediately pull its troops out of Lebanon and accusing it of having hands in Tel Aviv bombing.
Attending 'Supporting the Palestinian Authority' meeting in London, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice claimed that she had "firm evidence" that Syrian-based Jihad movement was " involved in planning" the Tel Aviv attack.
"There is firm evidence that Palestinian Islamic Jihad, sitting in Damascus, not only knew about these attacks but was involved in the planning," Rice told ABC News.
"And so the Syrians have a lot to answer for," Rice said. "We don't know the degree of Syrian involvement, but certainly what is happening on the territory of Syria, in and around Damascus, is clearly threatening to the different kind of Middle East we're trying to grow.
"We will be prepared to talk with others ... with the Israelis, with the Palestinians, with others in the region about this."
Meanwhile, a Bush administration official made a similar statement in Washington, claiming that the United States had obtained "firm evidence that the bombing on the 25th of February was not only authorized by Palestinian Islamic Jihad leaders in Damascus but that PIJ leaders also were actively involved in planning."
However, the official refused to state the evidence, only saying it was based on "U.S. intelligence."
http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=7210 | | | | Alpha | | Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2005 2:42 pm Post subject: US orders Syrians to get out of Lebanon |
| US orders Syrians to get out of Lebanon
>By Roula Khalaf in Beirut
>Published: March 2 2005 18:56 | Last updated: March 3 2005 00:45
>>
The US on Wednesday delivered its strongest message to Syria, ordering Damascus to remove its troops and secret services from Lebanon.
The stern message was echoed by the Lebanese opposition, which also demanded the resignation of top security officials backed by Syria.
Applauding the joint statement delivered on Tuesday by Condoleezza Rice, US secretary of state, and Michel Barnier, the French foreign minister, President George W. Bush said the world was speaking with one voice.
“You get your troops and your secret services out of Lebanon so that good democracy has a chance to flourish,” he said.
>
Hizbollah's dilemma
>Click here
>
Many Lebanese blame the February 14 assassination of Rafiq Hariri, the country's former prime minister, on their powerful neighbour an allegation Syria has denied. Street protests in Beirut this week toppled the Damascus-backed government, provoking calls for Syria to withdraw its 15,000 troops and intelligence agents.
Opposition leaders on Wednesday declared two representatives would take part in talks on the formation of a new government. At the end of a meeting at the ancestral home in the Chouf Mountains of Walid Jumblatt, seen as the main opposition leader, they called for the removal of Adnan Addoum, the prosecutor general, and the six main chiefs of security.
The statement described the extension of the presidential term of Emile Lahoud which Syria pressured the Lebanese parliament to accept in September as illegitimate. Earlier yesterday, Mr Jumblatt told the Financial Times that the president, Syria's closest ally in Lebanon, was the main obstacle to the country's freedom. Bashar al-Assad, Syria's president, told Time magazine this week that a withdrawal “should be very soon and maybe in the next few months”.
Find this article at:
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/451ff3ce-8b4a-11d9-ae03-00000e2511c8,ft_acl=,s01=1.html | | | | Alpha | | Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2005 2:49 pm Post subject: Beirut protests leave Hizbollah with a dilemma |
| Beirut protests leave Hizbollah with a dilemma
>By Roula Khalaf in Beirut
>Published: March 2 2005 19:27 | Last updated: March 2 2005 19:27
>>
Lebanon's opposition, flush with success after forcing the collapse of the pro-Syria government, has intensified appeals to Hizbollah, the Shia Islamist movement, to join its ranks.
Ghazi Aridi, an opposition parliamentarian close to Walid Jumblatt, one of the main opposition leaders, on Wednesday met Hizbollah officials for the first time since the assassination last month of Rafiq Hariri, the former Lebanese prime minister.
Shia Muslims are the only large community that has not joined what the Lebanese refer to as the "intifada for independence" - the protests against Syrian dominance over Lebanon that helped topple the government on Monday. Christians, Druze and Sunni Muslims have all taken part.
"We want them [Hizbollah] to join us or be half way between us and the Syrians," Mr Jumblatt told the Financial Times.
The appeals to Hizbollah have left its leadership in a quandary. The party is supported by Syria (as well as Iran) and is reluctant to turn against its backers. But it is also a popular movement in Lebanon; its guerrilla campaign drove Israeli troops out of Lebanon in May 2000, earning Hizbollah respect, including from Lebanese Christians. The party is now Lebanon's best organised political movement and has nine members in parliament.
Afraid of losing popular support, but unable to back the opposition, Hizbollah has tried in the past two weeks to remain neutral in the conflict between the opposition and Syria's allies in Lebanon, calling for dialogue between the two sides.
"The party is caught in a dilemma," said Nizar Hamza, a university professor in Beirut and expert on Hizbollah. "They don't want to lose the sympathy of the opposition but they are afraid of the opposition's views regarding future prospects for their party."
The appeals to Hizbollah come as the opposition struggles to sustain the pressure against Syria's presence in Lebanon. Opposition leaders acknowledge that the government's demise was only the first step in a long battle to remove Syria's military and political influence.
To encourage Hizbollah, the opposition has portrayed its struggle against Syria as an extension of Hizbollah's war of liberation against Israel. Christian members of parliament have sent signals to Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the Hizbollah chief, suggesting that Damascus might suddenly drop its support for the party as a concession to the US, leaving it isolated.
"The liberation is an integral part of the independence struggle," said Nayla Mouawad, a Christian politician in the opposition. "The unity of Lebanon is Hizbollah's only guarantee."
Mohamed Afif, a Hizbollah spokesman, said the group was aware of the popular pressures. "We see the situation and the people - we are not blind," he said. But he said the party could not back UN resolution 1559, which calls for the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon and the disarming of Hizbollah.
"There is a problem that is being ignored. We understand the demands for the withdrawal of the Syrians but some people [in the opposition] also want implementation of 1559, which we reject," said Mr Afif.
He said the opposition should focus on implementation of the 1989 Taif agreement, rather than the UN resolution. The Taif accord, which underpinned the resolution of Lebanon's 1975-1991 civil war, called for the redeployment of Syrian troops to the Beka'a valley by 1992, to be followed by a timetable for withdrawal agreed between the Syrian and Lebanese governments. Despite repeated promises from Damascus, the agreement was never implemented.
The UN Security Council included the dismantling of the guerrilla arm of Hizbollah in resolution 1559 under pressure from the US.
But Washington faces two problems. Hizbollah argues it must remain armed to liberate a parcel of land, called Shebaa farms, that it claims remains occupied by Israel, despite Israel's UN-backed withdrawal from south Lebanon in 2000.
Hizbollah also has a long history of enmity with the US, which considers it a terrorist organisation. The US and Israel lobbied hard, but unsuccessfully, last month to persuade European governments to include Hizbollah on their list of terrorist organisations.
France, which co-sponsored resolution 1559, adamantly opposed the move. The French position on Hizbollah, and the Lebanese opposition's need to win the party's support, may explain the distinction made in recent statements by US officials who have suggested that the emphasis now is on the first part of resolution 1559, dealing with a Syrian withdrawal, rather than its entirety.
Mr Jumblatt said the UN demands could be separated, adding that the opposition's main focus remained on implementing the Taif accord. "The Americans are asking for the dismantling of Hizbollah. We want to enter into negotiations with Hizbollah about its future role in Lebanon."
Find this article at:
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/988224bc-8b4d-11d9-ae03-00000e2511c8,ft_acl=,s01=1.html | | | | | ©2002-2009 WarWithoutEnd.co.uk |
