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Israel Blames Syria And Lebanon For Hezbollah Attacks
JERUSALEM, April 15 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Israel issued Sunday a tough warning to Syria and Lebanon after a Hezbollah attack that enflamed cross-border tension.
Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer said Israel held Damascus and Beirut responsible for the actions of the Lebanese Shiite Muslim movement Hezbollah - said by Israeli to be backed by Syria and Iran - after a soldier was killed in a missile strike on a tank in the disputed Shebaa farms border region Saturday.
In response, Israeli warplanes bombed Hezbollah targets in south Lebanon, the first attack on the Lebanese front since Sharon took office March 7th.
"The full responsibility lies on Syria and Lebanon. If they don't rein in Hezbollah, they'll pay the price," Ben Eliezer told army radio.
"If they think we will stay with our arms crossed, they are greatly fooling themselves," he said, calling the attack a "sickly provocation."
Israel has held the mountainous Shebaa region, which lies at the intersection of Israel, Lebanon and Syria, since 1967, but Beirut claims the area.
Israeli public radio said Foreign Minister Shimon Peres called on the United States, France and U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan to impress upon the Lebanese government the need to stop attacks from its territory by Hezbollah.
"The government of Lebanon is responsible for what takes place on its territory," Peres said, adding that U.N. and U.S. involvement is essential to prevent a severe escalation of border tensions.
As Beirut is trying to reassure the international community of its stability and attract foreign investment, the Lebanese government seemed irritated by the attack. The newspaper of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri strongly criticized the timing of the Hezbollah attack, saying it will have "negative consequences."
"The government mustn't remain inactive faced with actions that could hurt the interests of Lebanese," said the al-Mostaqbal daily.
"Does the situation in Lebanon allow such an operation now without fear of the negative consequences on the political, economic and social levels?" the newspaper asked.
"No group has the right to decide for the Lebanese actions that risk damaging the national consensus," it said, demanding "clear and urgent responses" from Hezbollah for why it launched the attack now.
Israeli security sources said Hezbollah's attack was aimed at dragging Israel into opening a second front with Lebanon, in addition to the fighting the Palestinian Intifadah, or uprising, in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, an Islamic group has claimed responsibility for Saturday's pipe-bomb attack in Israel that wounded an Israeli, saying it was in retaliation for Israeli strikes on Palestinian areas and southern Lebanon.
A statement by the Islamic Palestinian group Al-Aqsa Martyrs faxed Sunday said that their Abbas al-Moussawi brigade were responsible and that the attack was done to "salute" Hezbollah fighters.
"The attack is a payback to the continuous aggressive Israeli attacks on our people in Palestine and south Lebanon," said the statement.
"Our groups will continue their attacks against the Israeli enemy at all times and everywhere and this is our salute to Hezbollah's fighters and to our people in the Palestinian refugee camps."
Israel and the Palestinians have been locked in a deadly conflict for almost seven months that has killed more than 470 people, while Israel has also imposed choking economic sanctions on the Palestinians.
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