In a clear warning to Syria to stop the transfer of advanced weapons to Hezbollah, the New York Times quoted a senior Israeli official as saying that Israel will continue to take military action to prevent this transfer.
The warning came one day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamion Netanyahu met Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Black Sea resort of Sochi to discuss the situation in Syria.
According to the New York Times, the Israeli official – who contacted the paper – said, “Israel is determined to continue to prevent the transfer of advanced weapons to Hezbollah. The transfer of such weapons to Hezbollah will destabilize and endanger the entire region.”
“If Syrian President Assad reacts by attacking Israel, or tries to strike Israel through his terrorist proxies, he will risk forfeiting his regime, for Israel will retaliate,” the official was quoted as saying.
The comments came some two weeks after Israel reportedly hit a Syrian arms depot, a chemical weapons site and a weapons convoy in Damascus believed to be in transit from Iran to Hezbollah. Both Assad and Hezbollah’s head Hassan Nasrallah have threatened to retaliate.
The Prime Minister’s Office would not comment Wednesday evening on the report.
At a press conference with Netanyahu following their meeting in Sochi, Russian President Putin said the two countries would continue to maintain contact regarding the Syrian situation.
“We agreed to continue contacts – both on the personal level and between our organizations, special services,” the Russian news service RIA Novosti quoted Putin as saying.
“A negative scenario may only be prevented by the earliest termination of the armed conflict and transition to a political settlement,” Putin said. “It is particularly important to avoid any actions that may sway the situation.”
Netanyahu said Israel and Russia were “trying to find ways to strengthen stability and security, we have a remarkable opportunity to directly speak with each other.