BICOM

In an interview yesterday to Hezbollah–backed TV station Al-Manar, Syria’s President Assad suggested that a new military front could be opened against Israel, claiming public pressure for such a move.

In a rare interview since the start of the Syrian civil war, which has left an estimated 90,000 people dead so far, Assad claimed that despite the carnage, “There is pressure by the people to open a new front in the Golan, and even in the Arab world there is readiness to join the fight against Israel.” Israeli leaders have consistently made clear that they have no wish to become embroiled in Syria’s internal conflict, despite Syrian gunfire and mortar rounds which have landed on Israeli territory on several occasions over the last few months. Just last week, the Syrian government took responsibility for opening fire on Israeli troops on the Golan border.

In the same interview, Assad also claimed that his forces had already received or will soon receive the first shipment of the advanced S-300 anti-aircraft missile system from Russia, commenting “Everything we have agreed on with Russia will take place, and part of it has already taken place.” Israel’s Channel Two and Channel Ten both reported that they did not believe that the missiles had yet arrived in Syria.  Israeli leaders, including Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon warned this week that if Syria makes the S-300s operational, it could prompt Israeli action, as the sophisticated weapons system threatens Israel’s aerial dominance in the region.

Maariv reports this morning that during a visit to Russia earlier this month, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu explicitly warned Russia’s President Vladimir Putin that the Russian-made S-300s would be attacked by Israel, if made operation by Syria. According to the report, Russian officials were surprised by Netanyahu’s perceived audacity.