A second article appended at the end suggests that this is Zionist propaganda or an attempt to smear Chirac.

French President Jacques Chirac told Israel at the start of the war in Lebanon that France would support an Israeli assault on Syria, it was reported on Sunday.

Army Radio reported that in the message, which was delivered by Chirac to Israel via a secret channel, the French president suggested that Israel invade Damascus and topple the regime of Bashar Assad. In exchange, Chirac assured Israel of full French support for the war.

According to the message delivered form Paris, Syria was responsible for the flare up in the North and encouraged Hizbullah to attack.

"Former prime minister Ariel Sharon had explained to the French in the past that Iran is the main one responsible for Hizbullah's armament in Lebanon, while Chirac saw Syria as the primary one responsible for the matter," former Israeli ambassador to France Nissim Zvilli told Army Radio in an interview.

"President Chirac saw Syria as directly responsible for the attempt to undermine the Lebanese regime," he said. "He saw them as directly responsible for the murder of [former Lebanese prime minister] Rafik Hariri and directly responsible for arming Hizbullah. Likewise, he saw Syria as the one giving Hizbullah orders on how to operate."

In March of last year, some four months before the war began, Chirac warned Syria that the international community would respond harshly to any attempt to destabilize Lebanon.

"Syria must understand that any act that encroaches upon the stability of Lebanon, be it through the shipment of weapons or assassinations, is an act that contradicts with its standing in the international community and will trigger a response from the international community," Chirac said at the time.

During the war, France was one of the foremost proponents of sending a multinational UNIFIL force to police the Israel-Lebanon border, and even offered to lead it.

Towards the end of the war, however, diplomatic officials said France had changed its mind out of concern that its badly strained relations with Syria would lead Hizbullah to target French soldiers.

France, the officials pointed out, was instrumental in pushing through UN Security Council Resolution 1559, which forced Syria out of Lebanon. In addition, it was a key force behind the establishment of the commission of inquiry into the assassination of Hariri, who was a personal friend of Chirac.

Report: Chirac Calls on Israel to Topple Al-Asad

by The Media Line Staff
Sunday, March 18, 2007

French President Jacques Chirac called on Israel during the first two days of the war in Lebanon to topple the Syrian regime, the Israeli daily Maariv has reported.

Chirac wanted Israel to announce that Syria was responsible for the violence on the Israeli-Lebanese border and was supporting Hizbullah. Sources in Jerusalem said Chirac asked Israel to infiltrate Syria and overthrow Bashar Al-Asad's regime. In return, Chirac pledged France's unconditional support for Israel in the U.N. Security Council and the European Union's institutions.

"Chirac completely misunderstood the Israeli interest," a senior Israeli official told Maariv. "Israel is not looking for ways to attack Syria. Indeed, immediately after Chirac understood we were looking to end the war...the messages stopped."



The official added that according to all estimates, "the U.S. would not have complained too much if Israel decided to invade Syria during the first days of the war."

Chirac's proposal was discussed several times at high-level professional forums in Israel's Foreign Ministry, but was not passed on to the political echelon, probably because war with Syria was not on the agenda, Maariv wrote.