Of Damascus. Hamath is ashamed, and Arpad; for they have heard evil tidings, they are melted away; there is trouble in the sea; it cannot be quiet. (Jeremiah 49:23)
Syrian President Bashar Assad gave an new interview to Russian newspaper Izvestia on Sunday, his first public appearance since his reported chemical weapons attack against his own people last week, The Times of Israel reported. In it, Assad fingered Israel as a co-conspirator against his regime due to its ongoing medical treatment of the Syrian rebels. The Syrian president charged that Israel is allied with the Syrian opposition and has “publicly declared its cooperation with these terrorists and treated them in Israeli hospitals.” According to a recent CNN report, at least 120 Syrians injured near the border, both pro-Assad and pro-opposition, have received treatment in Israeli hospitals.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to back down on the Syrian crisis however. Prior to a meeting with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on Sunday, Netanyahu told reporters, “what we see in Syria is how extremist regimes have no reservations whatsoever about using these weapons even when they use it against innocent civilians, against their own people. In the end, the extremists use these weapons. So we must prevent them from having these weapons,” according to the Jerusalem Post.
In the extensive interview, Assad said the rebels were aligned with Israel and linked the Syrian opposition to global terrorist networks “initially created in the early 80’s by the United States and the West, with Saudi funding, to fight the Soviet Union in Afghanistan.”
Assad also warned against any outside intervention from the Western world, according to the Times. If America decided to intervene the Syrian civil war, it would meet “what it has been confronted with in every war since Vietnam… failure,” Assad said, according to a translation provided by the Syria state news agency. ”It will also not be able to convince the American people of the benefits of this war, nor will it be able to convince the people in this region of their policies and plans,” he added.
The Syrian president also dismissed the charges against his government as “completely politicized” accusations. He said that the area purportedly targeted in the attack near Damascus was controlled by government forces.“How is it possible that any country would use chemical weapons, or any weapons of mass destruction, in an area where its own forces are located?” he asked.
Syria, Assad claimed, has requested cooperation in the past from the UN over what he said were chemical weapons use by the rebels, and is willing to cooperate over the most recent allegations, but such investigations must be done with a full liaison with the Syrian government and be based on “concrete evidence and facts,” not on “allegations and hearsay.”
“We are all aware that instead of being interpreted in an objective manner, these results could easily be interpreted according to the requirements and agendas of certain major countries,” he said of UN chemical weapons inspections, adding that Syria “certainly” expects Russia to block in the UN any results that aim “to serve American and Western policies.”
Israeli was hardly the only country Assad accused of working against him. The Syrian President charged that the US, France and Britain have sought to intervene in Syria “from the outset,” but Syrian allies Russia and China, and reluctance of their own populations to engage in another military foray, have thwarted their attempts.
Earlier in the day, Netanyahu held his weekly cabinet meeting where he had even stronger words for Assad. Netanyahu promised that Israel’s “finger is on the pulse” following the situation in Syria, and – if needed – it’s finger will also be on the trigger. These were his first public comments on the reports that hundreds of Syrians were killed last week by chemical weapons,
The Israeli Premier said that Israel drew three conclusions from this incident.”One, this situation must not be allowed to continue. Two, the most dangerous regimes in the world must not be allowed to possess the most dangerous weapons in the world. And three, we expect that this will stop, of course, but we must always remember our sages’ ancient principle: “If we are not for ourselves, who will be for us? — That is to say, our finger must always be on the pulse. Ours is a responsible finger and if necessary, it will also be on the trigger.” Netanyahu added that Israel knows how to defend itself against those who want to do it harm.
In his meeting with Fabius, Netanyahu stated that he planned stress the relationship between Syria and Iran. Syria’s use of chemical weapons against its own people”simply demonstrates” what will happen if Iran gets even deadlier weapons, the PM said. What we see in Syria is how extremist regimes have no reservations whatsoever about using these weapons even when they use it against innocent civilians, against their own people,” he said. “In the end, the extremists use these weapons. So we must prevent them from having these weapons.”
Following the meeting, Fabius held a press conference in which he said that there was “no doubt” that Assad regime used chemical weapons in an attack last week in a Damascus suburb. I can also tell you that when there is a crime like this, it is inconceivable that it will go without a strong response,” he said. Fabius said the response will be “determined and hard,” but declined to go into further details.
According to The Times of Israel, British Prime Minister David Cameron has reportedly been trying to push US President Barack Obama into launching a military strike on Syria in the coming days, The Times of London reported early Monday morning. According to the paper, Cameron wants to act while outrage over the chemical attack is still fresh.
