Channels

William Hague
Photo: Reuters

Hague says won't criticize Israel over Syria strike

Commenting on reports of Israeli strike in Syria, British foreign secretary says real issue is Syrian civil war; criticizes international community for its failure to address crisis

British Foreign Secretary William Hague commented on reports of an Israeli airstrike in Syria and stressed he will not condemn Jerusalem over the matter, the BBC reported Thursday.

 

"I'm not going to give any condemnation of Israel or rush into any criticism," he said in an interview. "There may be many things about it that we don't know, or the Arab League or Russia don't know."

 

Related stories:

 

The British secretary said that the real issue is Syria's civil war which has been raging in the country for the past two years killing a reported 60,000 people.

 

"I think we should keep our eyes on the main event, the main crisis – that's those hundreds of thousands of refugees, millions of people needing humanitarian aid rather than criticizing any action of this kind," Hague said.

 

Asked about the possibility of Israel getting drawn into the conflict, he said, "That's why we have to make sure we address in every way the Syria conflict."

 

Hague further criticized the international community for its failure to deal with the Syrian civil war.

 

"If it affects neighboring countries they will react in various ways, we have to get to the root causes of it. And the root cause of the Syria crisis is not Israel – it's (rather) a regime that's oppressed its own people and a failure by the international community and the Security Council to shoulder its responsibilities over the last two years."

 

He said that the world must keep trying to find a diplomatic and political solution to the crisis. "We also have to keep increasing pressure on the regime and increase the practical support we give to the opposition coalition who do deserve our support.

 

 

 


פרסום ראשון: 02.01.13, 14:28
 new comment
Warning:
This will delete your current comment