Israeli FM: Our Goal Is to Prevent WMD Transfers to Hezbollah
JERUSALEM, Israel – Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said preventing the transfer of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) to Hezbollah is the government's primary concern.
In a briefing to the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Thursday morning, Lieberman said Israel had indeed struck Syria's Mezzeh airbase west of Damascus overnight Wednesday to prevent the transfer of chemical weapons to Hezbollah.
"Israel has no interest in intervening in the civil war in Syria," Lieberman told committee members. "Our policies and our positions are very clear and are based on three red lines: We will not allow any harm to come to Israeli citizens. We will not allow any harm to the sovereignty of the State of Israel and we will not allow the smuggling of sophisticated weapons or chemical weapons from Syria to Lebanon for Hezbollah."
A day earlier, Lieberman told a delegation of European Union ambassadors that protecting Israelis and defending the nation's sovereignty is its primary motivation.
"We act primarily to protect the safety of our citizens and defend our sovereignty, and we're trying to prevent the smuggling of sophisticated weapons, military equipment and weapons of mass destruction from Syria to Hezbollah."
In today's world, he said, every sovereign country must take care of itself because relying on the international community is unrealistic.
The Syrian government earlier denied the airstrikes, saying a technical malfunction caused the massive explosions and fires at the base.
In the 10 years since the Second Lebanon War, Hezbollah has amassed thousands of missiles and rockets, as well as sufficient ground forces to invade Israeli towns near the northern border.
Hezbollah chief Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah has repeatedly threatened widespread destruction in any future war with the Jewish state with missiles capable of inflicting massive damage on Israel's major population sites.
