JERUSALEM: Israel said yesterday it will not allow “sophisticated weapons” to fall into the hands of its enemies, after furious claims from Syria that Israeli warplanes carried out air strikes near Damascus. The Jewish state refused to confirm or deny the strikes, but its forces have previously targeted weapons allegedly destined for arch-foe Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
The two strikes on Sunday, including one on the country’s main international airport, were fiercely condemned by Damascus, which called for UN sanctions against Israel. Asked about the strikes on public radio, Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz refused to comment directly but stressed Israel’s policy of preventing arms transfers to militant groups. “We have a firm policy of preventing all possible transfers of sophisticated weapons to terrorist organisations,” Steinitz said, in a clear reference to the Shia militant group Hezbollah. Israel has launched a series of air strikes inside Syria since the outbreak of the country’s armed uprising in 2011, including raids reportedly targeting Iranian rockets bound for Hezbollah.AFP
