US-led Arab states, Sheikhdoms keep mum on Israeli attack agaist Syria

An analyst condemns the Arab League and Arab countries’ silence on Israel’s Syria attack, saying Arab states kowtow to ‘Israel and the United States’ when it comes to Syria.

The comment comes as Iran’s Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi warns of an international plot in Syria, urging a serious reaction to Israel’s aerial assault on a research center near the Syrian capital to prevent the regime from repeating such attacks.

Salehi expressed hope regional countries would reconsider their approaches and unanimously condemn the Israeli regime’s airstrike on Syria. We expect those countries in the region which are moving in a direction that is not in accordance with maintaining Syria’s national interest to rethink about their strategy, Salehi pointed out.

Press TV has conducted an interview with Bashar Mohammad, journalist, writer and activist in London to further discuss the issue. He is joined by professor at George Washington University, Nabil Mikhail and in Beirut, Franklin Lamb, director of Americans concerned for Middle East Peace. What follows is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: I’d like to start with you Bashar Mohammad and ask you what you make of this Israeli airstrike that happened inside Syrian territory which according to reports destroyed the military research facility?

Mohammad: Thank you. Well to start with I am against linking the Israeli airstrike with the rebels on the ground because when Israel launched an airstrike in 2007 there wasn’t even a revolution as the rebels call it or instability as the regime calls it or civil war as I call it.

Israel is just acting as the school bully. Israel is not concerned with what’s happening in the Middle East as long as its security is safe and until now they are expecting any reaction from Syria.

I believe Israel is determined to do whatever it can do to prevent any chemical weapons as they call it to arrive to Lebanon to Hezbollah because Hezbollah would use it against Israel while Syria would not use it.

So they are just taking advantage of the situation in Syria and stopping these missiles or these convoys from arriving to Lebanon and knowing that Syria would not respond; the rebels would not respond as well.

So it is just taking advantage of the situation and at the same time they are sending a message to everyone, the Arab community that after the elections in Israel and Netanyahu slight majority winning that the foreign policy would not change even if a different party joins the government it’s still the same war government Israel always had.

Press TV: Bashar Mohammad, what about the silence of Arab countries in particular maybe the Arab League. Why haven’t we seen a reaction? This is Israel attacking another Arab country in its territory on its soil.

Mohammad: I am actually not surprised. I am actually surprised that anyone is surprised the Arab League and Arab countries have been silent about such things and even if they have any action it won’t exceed condemnation of anything.

I believe most of the Arabs were taken by surprise as well and they do not know how to respond because they have no idea what’s going on. They are waiting for the Israeli or the American side to command and for them to follow.

Apart from Egypt not a single Arabic country condemned this including the Syrian opposition. So this silence is because of the mystery and so the confusion that they are in now because of this situation.

And the only statement that we saw from Syria came with the same responses that we always hear: We reserve the right of retaliation and the surprise and the option to respond that’s still repeating what has always happened and I believe this is a time when Syria should take serious action regarding this and Syria’s response.

We have seen them responding to the Turkish planes when they shot down a Turkish airplane previously we have never seen any retaliation against Israel and when some shells fell in Golan heights they responded that this is by mistake and apologized.

Press TV: Let me ask you if there is retaliation from Syria where, on which country, to whom: Israel, Turkey? What are we talking about?

Mohammad: It should be Israel because allegedly Israel has been in the Lebanese airspace since Tuesday evening and they moved the Iron Dome from the Gaza Strip to the Northern Front.

So for any country like Syria talking about security and military intelligence they would expect such a thing and Syria can easily retaliate in the Golan Heights on the war planes that invade the airspace of Syria and Lebanon all the time there must be a response.

Press TV: Let me tell you this (Nabil Mikhail) you raised the Washington Post and you are saying that the US maybe doesn’t think too much about it but you know the Washington Post has also posted in their blog reporters from Beirut, from Jerusalem, from Washington saying this has worked against Israel and its worked against the US.

Because if there is any possibility of Syria’s allies straining such as Iran, Russia, now they are committed more to this resistance against all the wars and the initiatives being brought on to Syria so is has backfired on Israel.

Do you agree with that assessment Bashar Mohammad coming through as our guest there pointed to the Washington Post and the reporters?

Mohammad: To a certain extent but I believe it’s a lot more than how the Washington Post describes the situation. There is chaos in Syria no question about that. The opposition has disappointed its allies one time after the other and there is no clear image as to the post regime situation.

That’s why I believe many of the countries supporting the opposition are talking some steps back saying that at the same time the West and Israel are not fond of Bashar al-Assad’s regime so they are in a situation of trade-offs.

They are trying to strike as much of their interests as possible whether by holding off or delaying any military progress or development in Syria or by stopping any convoys of weapons going to Hezbollah or by weakening the position of Syria. It’s a collection of things that at the end of the day is serving only Israel and the interests of it.

The situation in Syria is taking a long time to resolve because it could directly affect Israel and that’s why everyone is taking their time and trying to find the best solution for Israel in the region, not the Syrian people nor the regime.

Press TV: Bashar Mohammad, what do you think al-Qaeda, Israel sharing the frontline against Syria?

Mohammad: No, I think I agree with my two colleagues they are working in two different ideologies but the result is the same which is the destruction of an Arab country and it’s not serving Islam in any way or shape. So it might be same results, different ideologies.