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'Miscalculation' could lead
to Israel-Syria war: Olmert
AFP
Friday April 20, 2007
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Thursday warned against
any "miscalculation" that he said could lead to war between
Syria and the Jewish state.
During his meeting with visiting US Defence Secretary Robert Gates,
the premier reiterated that the Jewish state did not wish to wage
a war against Syria, his office said.
"Israel has no intentions of attacking Syria and... both sides
needed to be wary of any miscalculation that could lead the two
countries into a confrontation that neither side is interested in,"
Olmert was quoted as saying.
Israeli intelligence has said in recent months that Syria was preparing
for war against Israel.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has repeatedly made peace overtures
in recent months to Israel which has rejected them, saying Damascus
must first stop supporting militant groups in Lebanon and the Gaza
Strip.
On Monday a Syrian minister said that if both sides did not engage
in peace talks, Israel would face the alternative of "resistance."
Gates, the first US defence secretary to visit key ally Israel
since 2000, on Wednesday criticised Syria for its alleged support
of insurgents in Baghdad and the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.
"Syrian activities, both in allowing suicide bombers to cross
their border into Iraq, where they kill both Iraqis and coalition
partners, their allowing of a resupply of Hezbollah in Lebanon and
a variety of other activities, are of great concern to us,"
he said.
Damascus has denied allowing fighters to cross its 610 kilometre
(380 mile) border into Iraq.
Peace talks between Israel and Syria collapsed in 2000, mainly
because of deadlock over the return of the Golan Heights, which
Israel captured from Syria in 1967 and unilaterally annexed in 1981.
INFOWARS:
BECAUSE THERE'S A WAR ON FOR YOUR MIND
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