On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated Israel would prevent the movement of weapons from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime to Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. He made no mention of past or future air strikes.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, (l.), speaks as he sits next to Cabinet Secretary Avichai Mandelblit during a weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Israel, Sunday.
Ronen Zvulun/AP
EnlargePrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held out the prospect on Sunday of further Israeli strikes inside?Syria, pledging to act to prevent advanced weapons from reaching Hezbollah and other militant groups.
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Although?Israel?has not publicly taken sides in the civil war between Syrian President?Bashar al-Assad?and rebels trying to topple him, Western and Israeli sources say it has launched air strikes in?Syria?to destroy weapons it believed were destined for?Lebanon's Hezbollah.
In public remarks at the weekly meeting of his cabinet, Netanyahu made no direct mention of those attacks, but said?Israel?was prepared to take action in the future and was "preparing for every scenario" in the Syrian conflict.
Israel?had a policy "to prevent, as much as possible, the leakage of advanced weapons to Hezbollah and terror elements," he said.?"We will act to ensure the security interest of?Israel's citizens in the future as well."
Tzipi Livni, a member of?Netanyahu's security cabinet?and a former foreign minister, said: "I don't think there is anyone in?Israel?eager to take action" in?Syria, hinting at concerns that any strike could provoke a wider conflict.
In an interview with?Israel's?Army Radio, Livni also said Israeli politicians ought to avoid taking sides.
"Israel?isn't popular in?Syria. Therefore any such statement could only be used as ammunition by one of the sides to try and divert the debate or the violence toward?Israel?and that's the last thing we need," Livni said.
Israel?has neither confirmed nor denied reports that it attacked Iranian-supplied missiles stored near?Damascusthis month that it believed were awaiting delivery to Hezbollah, which fought a war with?Israel?in 2006 and is allied with Assad.
SUPERSONIC MISSILE
A Russian shipment of Yakhont anti-ship missiles to?Syria?was condemned by the?United States?on Friday, andIsrael?is also alarmed by the prospect of?Moscow?supplying S-300 advanced air defence missile systems toDamascus.
Netanyahu held talks in?Russia?on Tuesday with President?Vladimir Putin?on the Syrian crisis but gave no public indication whether?Israel's concerns over the Russian weaponry had been eased.
Amos Gilad, a senior?Israeli Defence Ministry?official, said on Saturday the S-300 and the Yakhont, weapons that could complicate any plans for foreign military intervention in?Syria, would likely end up with Hezbollah and threaten both?Israel?and U.S. forces in the Gulf.
"Yakhont is a cruise missile that can hit targets at sea and strategic targets. (It is) a supersonic missile, (with) a range of 300 km, very sophisticated," Gilad said on?Israel's Channel Two television on Saturday.
"The Russians sent it to?Syria, beside the strategic defence system called the S-300. There are a number of versions, and they are sending them one of the good versions," he said.
General?Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Friday?Russia's delivery of anti-ship missiles to Assad was "ill-timed and very unfortunate" and risked prolonging a war that has already killed more than 80,000 Syrians.
A spokesman for Putin, while not responding directly to assertions?Russia?had sent the anti-ship missiles, saidMoscow?would honour contracts to supply?Syria, a long-time weapons customer.
Additional reporting by Allyn Fisher-Ilan
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