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Syria arms Hezbollah with Scud missiles: Israel
[Al Arabiya Latest] Israeli President Shimon Peres on Tuesday accused Syria of supplying Scud missiles to the Lebanese Hezbollah while publicly talking peace, as Lebanon complained to United Nations over Israel's violation of its territory few days ago."Syria claims it wants peace while at the same time it delivers Scuds to Hezbollah whose only goal is to threaten the state of Israel," Peres told public radio. There have been reports in the past, notably in Arab media and by specialized think-tanks, that Syria was sending some of its arsenal of Scud missiles to Lebanon. "Syria believes it need do nothing more than let itself be courted by the world, while saying one thing and doing the opposite," said Peres, whose post is largely ceremonial. He made the comments just hours before flying to Paris, where he is expected to discuss the issue in talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Israel's Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai declined to go into details of the alleged Scud shipment, but said "Hezbollah's firing capacity has significantly improved." Israel accuses both Syria and Iran of supplying arms to Hezbollah, whose deadly attack on an army patrol in Israel triggered a bloody war in the summer of 2006. The 34-day conflict with Hezbollah killed 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and more than 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers. Posted by: Fred 2010-04-14 |
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