Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has warned Israel that Damascus would consider any attempt to assassinate Syria-based leaders of militant Palestinian groups as aggression against Syria.
Targeting leaders of anti-Israel Palestinian groups in Syria would be "an aggression that will be handled as an aggression," Assad said in an interview with the Qatar-based Arab television station al-Jazeera aired on Saturday. He did not elaborate.
Israeli officials have vowed to kill officials of guerrilla groups responsible for "terror acts," one of the most prominent of whom is Khaled Meshaal, the political leader of the militant Islamist group Hamas, who lives in Syria.
Meshaal survived an Israeli assassination attempt in Jordan in 1997.
"Even if Israel did not make a threat, the threat is always there. No one trusts Israel ... the threat has been there since Israel was created," Assad said.
"Israel expresses itself freely, not through the freedom of speech but rather through the freedom of killings," he said.
In the past six weeks Israel has assassinated Hamas's spiritual leader and co-founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and its Gaza leader Abdul-Aziz al-Rantissi.
Hamas, which has played a leading role in the three-and-a-half-year-old Palestinian uprising against Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, is sworn to the destruction of Israel and has killed hundreds of Israelis in suicide attacks.
The White House said on Friday it would impose sanctions on Syria soon for supporting terrorism and failing to stop guerrillas from entering Iraq.
Syria describes the militant Palestinian and Lebanese groups that it supports -- "terrorists" in Washington's eyes -- as freedom fighters. It says it has done all it can to help the US in its "war against terror" and to control its border with Iraq.
In his interview, Assad defended the Palestinian resistance against Israeli occupation forces and said it was legitimate "so long as it represents what the Palestinian people want. We do not have the right to evaluate it; only the Palestinians have that right."
He said there was no change in his country's longstanding position on the resumption of peace talks with the Jewish state.
"We have always said that we are ready to negotiate with Israel when the circumstances in Israel are suitable," he said.
Assad's remarks indicated Damascus was not waiting for a change of government in Israel to revive the talks, which broke down in 2000 over the future of the Golan Heights, Syrian land occupied by Israel since 1967.
"They [Israeli governments] are all the same ... Some kill Arabs and Palestinians and say `I am a messenger of peace' and some kill them and say `I am a messenger of war,'" Assad said.
He also criticized US President George W. Bush for his recent pledge to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon that Israel could keep some West Bank land and that Palestinian refugees should not expect to reclaim their homes in what is now Israel.
‘SHARP COMPETITION’: Australia is to partner with US-based Lockheed Martin to make guided multiple launch rocket systems, an Australian defense official said Australia is to ramp up missile manufacturing under a plan unveiled yesterday by a top defense official, who said bolstering weapons stockpiles would help keep would-be foes at bay. Australian Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy said the nation would establish a homegrown industry to produce long-range guided missiles and other much-needed munitions. “Why do we need more missiles? Strategic competition between the United States and China is a primary feature of Australia’s security environment,” Conroy said in a speech. “That competition is at its sharpest in our region, the Indo-Pacific.” Australia is to partner with US-based weapons giant Lockheed Martin to make
BEYOND WASHINGTON: Although historically the US has been the partner of choice for military exercises, Jakarta has been trying to diversify its partners, an analyst said Indonesia’s first joint military drills with Russia this week signal that new Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto would seek a bigger role for Jakarta on the world stage as part of a significant foreign policy shift, analysts said. Indonesia has long maintained a neutral foreign policy and refuses to take sides in the Russia-Ukraine conflict or US-China rivalry, but Prabowo has called for stronger ties with Moscow despite Western pressure on Jakarta. “It is part of a broader agenda to elevate ties with whomever it may be, regardless of their geopolitical bloc, as long as there is a benefit for Indonesia,” said Pieter
TIGHT CAMPAIGN: Although Harris got a boost from an Iowa poll, neither candidate had a margin greater than three points in any of the US’ seven battleground states US Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live (SNL) in the final days before the election, as she and former US president and Republican presidential nominees make a frantic last push to win over voters in a historically close campaign. The first lines Harris spoke as she sat across from Maya Rudolph, their outfits identical, was drowned out by cheers from the audience. “It is nice to see you Kamala,” Harris told Rudolph with a broad grin she kept throughout the sketch. “And I’m just here to remind you, you got this.” In sync, the two said supporters
Pets are not forgotten during Mexico’s Day of the Dead celebrations, when even Fido and Tiger get a place at the altars Mexican families set up to honor their deceased loved ones, complete with flowers, candles and photographs. Although the human dead usually get their favorite food or drink placed on altars, the nature of pet food can make things a little different. The holiday has roots in Mexican pre-Hispanic customs, as does the reverence for animals. The small, hairless dogs that Mexicans kept before the Spanish conquest were believed to help guide their owners to the afterlife, and were sometimes given
RSS