Israel seeks more pressure on Syria
Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom says Israel will seek diplomatic means to end Syria's sponsoring of Palestinian terror groups
Israel will seek diplomatic means to end Syria’s sway over Palestinian terror groups which it harbors in Damascus, Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said Tuesday.
Shalom’s comments came in a meeting with U.S. Ambassador to Israel Richard Jones to whom he presented intelligence data showing
the high motivation pervading terror groups to wage attacks against Israel from the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Jones condemned Monday’s suicide attack in Netanya where a Jihad suicide bomber detonated a bag full of explosives killing himself, five Israelis and injuring more than 50.
“We intend to take all possible actions to stop the firing of Qassams and suicide attacks against Israel,” Shalom told reporters.
The foreign minister accused the Palestinian Authority of ignoring efforts by terror groups to set up a terror infrastructure, and smuggling arms from Egypt into the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
“We can not live with Qassams and suicide bombings,” Shalom said.
According to Shalom, Israel made it clear that after the disengagement it would not tolerate any more attacks from Gaza.
"However, we do not intend to enter the Strip. On Monday we launched a series of operations in the Judea and Samaria area, and we plan to continue this activity Tuesday. We will use all measures at our disposal to stop terror, and we'll demand of the Palestinians to firmly act against it," he said.
Orders come from Syria
The foreign minister said that Syria supports Islamic Jihad and Hamas, and that a large part of the instructions for Monday's terror attack were relayed from Damascus.
"Israel will take clear steps against this," he stated.
Jones said he wished to express his
condolences on behalf of the American government to the victims of the Netanya attack, which he described as "an attack out of desperation by the enemies of peace that will stop at nothing in their attempt to stop the peace process."
"Israel has a right to protect its residents in every way and America will support every one of its moves," Jones said. "We will do whatever is possible to see that the PA assumes responsibility for the situation. By failing to do so, it harms the Palestinian people," he added.
