Syria will hit back, says envoy

By JUSTIN HUGGLER in Jerusalem

A senior Syrian diplomat warned yesterday that Damascus would respond militarily if Israel were to carry out another raid on its territory.

The remarks by Syria's Ambassador to Spain, Mohsen Blial, were downplayed as his "personal understanding" of the country's stance.

The official view - expressed in letters to the United Nations urging that Israel be condemned - was unchanged.

But Mohsen Bilal said in Madrid: "If Israel attacks Syria one, two and three times, of course the people of Syria and the Government of Syria and the Army will react to defend ourselves."

Asked if that meant responding militarily, he said: "By all means. If Israel continues to attack us and continues its aggression, of course we shall react to the attacks in spite of the fact that we are fighting for peace and wish to reopen the [1991] Madrid [peace] conference."

His warning came as it emerged that Israel had cut short leave for three Army battalions, cancelled Army training courses and was reportedly considering calling up reservists.

The deployment of troops who were on leave or on training courses has reportedly tripled the Army's strength in some areas.

The development has raised concern in the Middle East, where nervousness has been heightened by the Israeli air strike on Syria, less than 32km from Damascus.

The Israeli Government insisted that the military moves were purely defensive, because it had received warnings of imminent attacks.

But some are concerned there could be more to the plans, which Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz reportedly pushed through despite opposition from the Army.

Already this week a flare-up on the border with Lebanon resulted in the death of an Israeli soldier in an exchange of fire with the Lebanese group Hizbollah.

Yesterday, Israeli Air Force jets violated Lebanese airspace in a show of force, flying as far north as Tripoli, and breaking the sound barrier over Beirut, and there are concerns Israel may attempt a strike against Hizbollah.

Elsewhere, the Israeli Army has divided the Gaza Strip into four small enclaves, cutting sections out of the coastal road which links them and preventing Palestinians from travelling from one section to another.

The fear is that this could signal deep Israeli incursions into parts of the Gaza Strip or even the full-scale invasion and reoccupation that Israel has been talking about for more than a year.



In the West Bank, the Israeli Army is said to have reinforced its blockades around Palestinian cities.

A military closure stopping Palestinians travelling in the West Bank or crossing into Israel, originally put in place only for the holiday weekend of Yom Kippur, has now been extended until October 22.

Speaking in Beirut yesterday, United Nations chief Middle East envoy Terje Roed-Larsen warned Israel and Syria to avoid any escalation after the Israeli air strike on what appears to have been a disused militant camp near Damascus.

"Attacks and counter-attacks like these are taking us down a steep and precarious path towards more violence," Larsen said.

In a rebuke to Israel, he said: "The Government of Israel must refrain from unilateral use of force and address its complaints through the Security Council."

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