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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Israel tries to tamp down Syrian anger after killing dozens of its elite soldiers |
| 2013-05-06 |
| A day after it launched an airstrike outside of Damascus, killing scores of Syrian soldiers, Israel sought to play down the attack as a strike against regime-ally Hezbollah, not President Bashar al-Assad. Reuters reports that Israel has made several soothing overtures to its war-racked northern neighbor after launching airstrikes in Syria on Friday and Sunday. Tzachi Hanegbi, a confidante of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told Israeli radio on Monday that Mr. Netanyahu aimed to avoid "an increase in tension with Syria by making clear that if there is activity, it is only against Hezbollah, not against the Syrian regime." Hezbollah, which seeks Israel's elimination, has long relied on the Assad regime to transfer weapons from Iran into its own hands. Damascus and the Lebanese Shiite militant group appear to have drawn closer together as a result of Syria's civil war, with Hezbollah fighters battling the Syrian opposition from inside the country. Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel's biggest-selling newspaper, said the Netanyahu government had informed Mr. Assad through diplomatic channels that the attacks were not attempts to affect the outcome of Syria's civil war. Israeli officials did not immediately confirm the report, but one suggested that such indirect contacts were not required. "Given the public remarks being made by senior Israeli figures to reassure Assad, it's pretty clear what the message is," the official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. And Haaretz noted that Netanyahu left as planned for a diplomatic trip to China on Sunday, which it called "part of JerusalemÂ’s effort to send a calming message to Assad." |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #6 As the 2000-Year-Old Man said, “Tragedy is when I stub my toe. Comedy is when you fall down a manhole and die.” |
| Posted by: Eric Jablow 2013-05-06 22:57 |
| #5 Syria," Da Joos killed our countrymen, they must die!!" Israel," There Iranians, not Syrians." Syria," Oh, OK. Its all good." |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2013-05-06 20:50 |
| #4 "may have been some Hezbollah troops there and maybe a few Basij" And the poor babees got killed? Awwwwwww, ain't that just too bad. |
| Posted by: Barbara 2013-05-06 19:07 |
| #3 The troops guarding the hezbollah missiles were probably not Assad's 'elite' soldiers but there may have been some Hezbollah troops there and maybe a few Basij. |
| Posted by: lord garth 2013-05-06 17:33 |
| #2 Although, in this context, "elite" means "surviving"... |
| Posted by: Muggsy Mussolini1226 2013-05-06 17:29 |
| #1 Netanyahu government had informed Mr. Assad through diplomatic channels that the attacks were not attempts to affect the outcome of Syria's civil war. Think Assad is smart enough to get the hint? |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2013-05-06 14:54 |