Deputy PM heads to US, says ball in Syria's court

"The ball is in the Syrians' court," Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz said on Sunday evening prior to his meeting with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Washington.

"Syria is entangled up to its neck with aiding Hizbullah and other terror groups like Hamas. Now it must decide, does it want to continue to allow Iran to lead it by the nose or does it want to abandon the axis of evil," he said.

Mofaz is in the US as part of an extensive Israeli delegation, which includes Maj. Gen. Amos Gilad, who heads the Defense Ministry's Diplomatic-Security bureau and Foreign Affairs Ministry Director-General Aharon Abramovitch as well as senior officials from the IDF's Military Intelligence and the Mossad.

Mofaz is expected to discuss several key issues with Rice, including the tightening of sanctions against Iran and the failure to implement the United Nation Security Council's resolution regarding Lebanon. Mofaz said of Resolution 1701 that Israel "is concerned it has not been realized on the ground. We will consider, among other things, to expand the resolution, but I do not wish to go into detail prior to our meeting with the Americans."

Diplomatic developments concerning Damascus are also high on Mofaz's agenda. "We must ensure our moves regarding Syria are measured, very level-headed and very very responsible. I am not interested in issuing labels for (Syrian President Bashar) Assad – whether I believe him or not – but his strategic decision was to side with Iran, Hamas and Hizbullah. And that speaks volumes."

Mofaz added that Syria's chief ally, Iran, poses a threat not only to Israel but to global security as well. "Our strategy is to forge a front that is as wide-reaching as possible. Now we can also include Italy among the ranks of that front, now that they have elected Silvio Berlusconi.

The deputy PM declined to comment on recent US Congress hearings regarding the Syrian nuclear reactor Israel bombed in September, though the matter is highly expected to come up in meetings held behind closed doors.

Mofaz is also scheduled to meet with representatives from the Jewish-American community and deliver a speech before students and faculty members of Yale University before returning to Israel on Friday.