Assad: Fight rebels before Israel

Syrian President Bashar Assad on Monday spoke to Hezbollah's Al-Manar network, saying that "Israel's real tool (meaning the Syrian rebels) is much more dangerous than what Israel does from time to time."

The embattled president added that "If we want to fight Israel, we must fight its tools within Syria. There is no alternative to deciding the issue inside Syria. After that things will return to the way they were before."