BICOM

While he refrained from acknowledging Israeli involvement in last week’s air strike in Syria, Israel’s Defence Minister Ehud Barak implied participation in the operation and reiterated Israel’s seriousness in preventing advanced weapons from reaching Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Speaking at a security conference attended by top diplomats and defence officials in Munich, Barak said “I cannot add anything to what you have read in the newspapers about what happened in Syria several days ago.” However, he then added somewhat more revealingly, “What happened in Syria several days ago [is] proof that when we said something we mean it … we say that we don’t think it should be allowed to bring advanced weapons systems into Lebanon.”

The details of what actually happened last week remain unclear. Western reports say that aircraft struck a convoy of trucks heading towards the Lebanese border carrying sophisticated Russian-made anti-aircraft weaponry and equipment, which was likely heading for Hezbollah. However, the Syrian government claims that an air strike targeted a “military research centre” near Damascus killing two people.

Yesterday, Syrian President Assad also commented publicly on last week’s events for the first time. The state news agency quoted Assad saying that the operation “unmasked the true role Israel is playing, in collaboration with foreign enemy forces and their agents on Syrian soil, to destabilise and weaken Syria.” Syrian television also broadcast images of the apparent aftermath of the air strike with accompanying caption, “consequences of the Israeli aggression.” Meanwhile, Lebanese media reported an explosion last night at a transmission tower near the city of Tyre in south Lebanon, speculating that it was caused by an Israeli air strike. However, Hezbollah-affiliated media outlets have denied this and said it was the result of a stun grenade.