Netanyahu wants ‘relationships’ with Syria but says Israel will attack it if it becomes dangerous

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday he wanted to build a “relationship” with the new government in Syria after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad, but warned Israel that it would not hesitate to attack the Middle Eastern nation if it became dangerous.

“We want a relationship with the new regime in Syria,” Netanyahu said live. But if this regime allows Iran to return to its base in Syria or allows the transfer of Iranian weapons or any other weapons to Hezbollah or [if it] to attack[s] we, too, will respond strongly. And we will pay a heavy price.

“What happened in the previous government will happen in this government.”

ISRAEL SENDS PARATROOPERS TO SYRIA WITH ‘DEFENSE DUTY’ AFTER ASSAD FALLS

It is not yet clear who exactly will take over the leadership of Syria or what that government will look like now that the rebel forces are in control of Damascus.

On Monday night, Israel launched massive strikes against the Syrian military’s arsenal, including two Syrian shipyards, the port of Al-Bayda and the port of Latakia, where 15 Syrian warships are stationed, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed on Tuesday. in the afternoon.

“Manned aircraft flew for hours over Syrian territory, striking more than 350 times along with warplanes,” the IDF reported.

Israel said “a number of targets were hit” including anti-aircraft batteries, airfields of the Syrian Air Force and dozens of weapons depots in Damascus, Homs, Tartus, Latakia and Palmyr that store sophisticated weapons such as ballistic and cruise missiles, UAVs, fighter. jets, helicopters and tanks.

A man walks past a burned-out and ammunition-riddled vehicle at the site of an Israeli attack earlier in the evening that targeted an arms shipment belonging to Syrian government forces in Qamishli, a predominantly Kurdish region of northeast Syria Dec. 10, 2024. (Delil Souleiman/AFP via Getty Images)

Netanyahu appeared to say that these strikes were similar to the actions taken by Britain during World War II when it bombed French ships in the Algerian port of Mers-el-Kébir to prevent the ships from falling into the hands of the Nazis.

NETANYAHU PRAISES ‘HISTORIC’ FALL OF BASHAR ASSAD IN SYRIA, SAYS ISRAEL IS ATTACKING HEZBOLLAH, IRAN

It is not clear if there were any casualties in the overnight Israeli strike, although the United Nations on Tuesday condemned the attack and the Israeli military’s incursion beyond the Golan Heights and the demilitarized zone.

“We continue to see Israeli movements and bombings in Syrian territory. This must be stopped,” said UN Special Envoy to Syria Geir Pedersen, calling what is happening in Israel “worrisome.”

“This is very important,” he added. “We need to see the nature of the Israeli offensive, and we need to make sure that the conflict in the northeast stops. And we need to make sure that there are no further conflicts between different armed groups.”

Israel has received international criticism after it sent troops this week across the Golan Heights, a disputed territory seized by Jerusalem in 1967 and still recognized internationally as part of Syria, although the US recognizes Israeli sovereignty over the area.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS PROGRAM

Israeli soldiers operate in an area designated as southern Syria in this photo from a video obtained by Reuters Dec. 9, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces/Handout via Reuters)

“We do not agree with these types of attacks. I think this is a change in Syria. It should not be used by its neighbors to raid Syrian territory,” said UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric on Tuesday.

In his speech, Netanyahu reaffirmed Israel’s position and said, “We do not intend to interfere in the internal affairs of Syria, but it is clear that we intend to do what is necessary to ensure our security.”