HAMAS CONDEMNS “ZIONIST AGGRESSION AGAINST SYRIA”
Bethlehem, 27 Jumadil Akhir 1434/7 May 2013 (MINA) – The Hamas movement condemned Israeli strikes on Syria and called for an end to bloodshed in the country.
It was stated by Hamas official Mahmoud Zahhar, Sunday (5/5). He said that Arabs must unite against Israeli attacks on Syria.
The senior official appealed to Egypt, Turkey and Iran to stop the bloodshed in Syria and work towards a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
The statement expressed sympathy with the Syrian people amid ongoing fighting, and condemned the killing and torture of civilians, including the recent massacre in the coastal town of Banias.
Hamas denounced the “Zionist aggression on Syria,” calling it a continuation of Israel’s “policy of terror.”
A senior Israeli source said the attacks early on Sunday hit Iranian weapons destined for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which is allied with the Syrian regime.
Egyptian government also condemned Israeli air strikes on Syria saying it as an exploitation, with the Arab League also demanding that the UN Security Council act to stop what it called “Israeli attacks” against the war-torn country,
The Egyptian presidency said in a statement the air strikes “violated international law and principles that will further complicate the situation”, Maan reported as quoted by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA).
The Arab League, which like Egypt sides, demanded the Security Council “act immediately to end Israeli attacks on Syria,” which it described as a “dangerous violation of an Arab state’s sovereignty.”
Previous, Syrian state television has reported that a series of heavy explosions in the capital were caused by Israeli rocket strikes, SANA reported.
The blasts early Sunday morning targeted a military research centre on the outskirts of the capital. The research centre in Jamraya was the target of an earlier Israeli strike in January.
The agency did not say whether there were any wounded or dead. Video footage uploaded onto the Internet by activists showed a huge ball of fire rising into the night sky while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London-based watchdog group, has also reported several explosions in the capital and its surrounding countryside.
The Syrian state media claims, reported by the Reuters news agency, come after Israel confirmed that its air force hit a shipment of missiles in Syria bound for Hezbollah.
Israel has repeatedly warned that it is prepared to resort to force to prevent Syrian weapons, including chemical weapons, from reaching Hezbollah or groups.
US president Barack Obama said on Saturday, before the latest incident, that it was up to Israel to confirm or deny any strikes, but that the US coordinates very closely with Israel.
“The Israelis, justifiably, have to guard against the transfer of advanced weaponry to terrorist organizations like Hezbollah,” Obama told the Spanish-language TV station Telemundo.
The Israeli military, meanwhile, called up several thousand reservists earlier this week for what it called a “surprise” military exercise on its border with Lebanon.(T/P04/E1)
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
