Lieberman poruฤio Assadu da protjera iranske snage iz Sirije
Avigdor Lieberman


Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman warns that any attempt by Syrian regime forces to deploy in demilitarized border zone will be met with "harsh response" - Iran-affiliated forces working to establish terrorist infrastructure in Syrian Golan, Lieberman says.

Israel promised a "harsh response" on Monday to any attempt by Syrian forces advancing against southern rebel areas to deploy in a Golan Heights frontier zone that was demilitarized under a 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement.


Comment: Yet the next day: Israeli Defense Minister Lieberman: Israel doesn't exclude establishment of ties with Assad


Touring the Israeli Golan Heights, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman ramped up threats to use armed force should regime forces encroach on the border. "Any Syrian soldier who will be in the buffer zone risks his life," Lieberman told reporters.

Syrian government forces backed by Russia have launched an offensive in the southern Daraa province and are widely expected to move on rebel-held Quneitra, which is within an area covered by the armistice.

Israel worries that Syria's President Bashar Assad could let its enemies Iran and Hezbollah move forces into the area, giving them a foothold near its border. Tehran and the Lebanese terrorist group both back Assad in the complex conflict.

"For our part, we will honor the 1974 disengagement agreement, and there too we will insist that every last letter be abided by, and any violation will meet a harsh response from the State of Israel," Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said.

Assad's conduct in southern Syria is expected to come up in talks in Moscow on Wednesday between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russia, whose 2015 intervention in the Syrian civil war turned the tide in Assad's favor, has largely turned a blind eye to repeated Israeli airstrikes in Syria targeting suspected Iranian or Hezbollah emplacements and arms transfers.

But diplomats on both sides say Russia has made clear that it would oppose any Israeli action endangering Assad's rule.

On Sunday night, Syria said its air defense repelled a sortie against the T4 air base in Homs province that reportedly killed nine people. According to foreign media reports, Israel was responsible for the attack.

Jerusalem, in keeping with its customary reticence on such operations, declined all comment.

"Regarding yesterday - I read about it in the newspapers today, and I have nothing to add," Lieberman said on Monday.

"Perhaps just one thing, that our policy has not changed. We will not allow Iran's entrenchment in Syria and we will not allow Syrian soil to be turned into a vanguard against the State of Israel. Nothing has changed. There is nothing new.

"Iran's very presence in Syria is, from our perspective, unacceptable. We are not prepared to accept Iran's presence anywhere in Syria. ... As soon as we identify an Iranian presence, we will act."

He said that terrorist "forces affiliated with the [Iran-led] axis are making efforts, under the protection of the [Syrian] regime, to establish infrastructure in the Syrian Golan [Heights]."

Calling these efforts "unacceptable," Lieberman said Israel would "act with force against any terrorist infrastructure that we see and identify in the area."

He said that "from our perspective, the regime is responsible and it will also be held responsible and pay a heavy price for collaborating with axis members and the amount and extent of the forces, in accordance with the [1974] agreement."