Middle East: The Syrian President, Mr Bashar al-Assad, has said that Israel's government cannot continue without war. "The Israeli government is a government of war and cannot continue without war," the official Syrian Arab News Agency quoted Mr Assad yesterday.
Mr Assad made the remarks during a meeting with the UN's top Middle East envoy, Mr Terje Roed-Larsen, who has urged Syria and Israel to avoid a wider conflict following the Israeli raid, which Damascus said was on a civilian area.
In Jerusalem, a senior Israeli military official said later yesterday that the raid was intended as a message to Syria that its territory would be "part of the game" if it continued giving support and safe haven to Palestinian factions behind attacks on Israelis.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Israeli intelligence had detected several other "terrorist" training camps in Syria and also considered the Lebanese guerrilla group Hizbullah and Iran as major security threats.
Syrian state radio, a government mouthpiece, said Damascus was capable of defending itself, although it preferred a diplomatic answer to Israeli aggression.
"Syria is capable of defending itself and has options in this regard, but Syrian \ is not based on reactions and Syria will not be dragged into stances that do not serve its interests and those of Arabs," the radio said in an official commentary.
Syria's envoy to Spain said on Wednesday that Damascus would respond militarily if Israel launched more attacks. Later an official source in Damascus said the envoy's comments were his "personal understanding of the official position".
The radio also accused Israel of practising "state terrorism with American support" and of pushing the region towards an uncertain future. - (Reuters)