Israel blames Syria for bomb

2005-02-27 08:53

Jerusalem - Israel has attacked Syrian targets in the past and will do so again if it feels this will stop Damascus-based groups from attacking Israeli targets, a senior defense official said on Sunday, accusing Syria of being behind a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv over the weekend.

Deputy defence minister Zeev Boim said an Israeli attack will "send a message to (Syrian President Bashar) Assad" that he must clamp down on Islamic groups based in Damascus.

Israel's defence minister Shaul Mofaz blamed Syria for the suicide bombing on Friday in a Tel Aviv nightclub. Four Israelis were killed and dozens of others were wounded in the bombing.

But Mofaz stopped short of threatening to attack Syria.

Vice-premier Shimon Peres said the United States is currently leading "an initiative" against Syria, and Israel has to allow it to do so.

Israel has attacked Syrian installations after accusing Damascus-based Islamic groups of masterminding, coordinating and overseeing attacks in Israel.

In 2003, Israeli warplanes bombed a Damascus-area Islamic Jihad base in retaliation for a suicide bombing that killed 19 people at a restaurant in Haifa.

Last September, a leader of the militant Islamic Hamas group was assassinated in Damascus. Israeli officials tacitly acknowledged involvement in the killing.

In August 2003, Israel sent a clear warning to Assad when its warplanes flew low over Assad's summer palace in Latakia while he was vacationing there. The warplanes reportedly flew so low that windows in the palace shattered.

- AP