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Sharon: Israel will 'strike its enemies in every place'Assad: Sharon wants to pull Syria into war
JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Tuesday that Israel will strike its enemies wherever they might be. His comment came two days after Israel struck what it said was a terrorist training camp near Damascus, Syria. Speaking at a ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of the 1973 Yom Kippur War that pitted Israel against Syria and Egypt, Sharon said, "Israel will not recoil from defending its citizens and will strike its enemies in every place and with any means. "At the same time, we will not miss an opening or an opportunity to reach an agreement with our neighbors for the peace we long for so much." Syria has denied the target was a terrorist training camp. Syrian President Bashar Assad, in an interview published by the Arabic-language daily Al-Hayat on Tuesday, said the "government of Ariel Sharon wants to drag Syria and the rest of the region into war." In Washington, President Bush again defended Sharon's move. "I have constantly said Israel should defend herself," Bush said. "We would be doing the same thing. This country will defend our people." Bush's own stated doctrine is to reserve the right to strike potential terrorists or threats pre-emptively, and he has done so twice: once in Afghanistan following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and earlier this year, toppling Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, whom he said possessed weapons of mass destruction. "We are also mindful when we make decisions, as the prime minister should be, that he fully understand the consequences of any decision," Bush said. He also said Sharon should be careful not to act in a way "that would cause the violence to escalate." Violence on the borderThe statements follow violence at a disputed border area in southern Lebanon, near Syria and Israel. (Full story) A statement from the Lebanese Joint Security Force, headquartered in South Lebanon, said gunmen engaged Israeli forces Monday in a brief cross-border gunbattle around the same time explosions were heard in the disputed area known as the Shaba'a farms. One Israeli soldier was killed, and there was an exchange of gunfire, the Israel Defense Forces said. While Lebanese security officials did not identify the participants in Monday's fighting, the Shaba'a farms area has been subject to sporadic attacks by Hezbollah guerrillas in the three and a half years since Israel withdrew its forces from South Lebanon. The United States recently stepped up pressure on Syria to rein in Hezbollah to keep the Lebanese-Israeli border quiet. Israel issued a warning to Syria and Lebanon on Monday night, urging them to stop their alleged support of militant groups. And a spokesman said the Israeli government is not ruling out another attack on Syria. Sunday's attack on the suspected training camp came a day after a suicide bombing in Haifa that killed 19 people and wounded more than 50 others. Palestinian Cabinet members sworn-inThe volatile situation prompted Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat to declare a state of emergency in the Palestinian territories. On Sunday, Arafat appointed Ahmed Qorei as prime minister and set up a temporary emergency Cabinet, most of whom were sworn-in Tuesday. The Palestinian Legislative Council will meet Thursday to consider a vote of confidence for the new Cabinet and its political program. In Ramallah on Tuesday, seven of the nine members were sworn-in. Of the missing members, one faced travel obstacles and the other -- the man chosen to take over the Interior Ministry -- shunned the ceremony for political reasons. Nasser Yousef, a veteran Palestinian military official named to become interior minister, was in Arafat's compound during Tuesday's ceremony. He wants the new government, his selection and its political program to get a vote of confidence before he agrees to be sworn-in. The Interior Ministry is a key post since it is charged with security duties and would be the agency that would crack down on Palestinian militants. Yousef believes a vote of confidence would give his actions credibility. At least one Israeli minister called for Arafat's expulsion after the Haifa attack. On September 11, Israel's Security Cabinet voted in principle to "remove" Arafat because he is an obstacle to peace, but did not describe how. (Full story) Qorei said the new government would attempt to forge a truce with Palestinian militants. But Israelis met Qorei's call for a truce coldly. "He wants a truce, he should make a truce," Sharon spokesman Ra'anan Gissin has said, calling on the Palestinian Authority to dismantle the militants. If not, he said, Israel will continue attacking the militants. In Ramallah Tuesday, Israeli troops arrested a wanted Hamas operative identified as Jamal al Kush. There were clashes between soldiers and stone-throwing youths. CNN correspondent Jerrold Kessel contributed to this report.
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