JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israel's media and politicians lambasted former premier Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday for becoming the first official to say Israel was behind the recent air strike deep inside Syria.
In an interview with Channel 1 news on Wednesday, the hawkish opposition leader said he had given Prime Minister Ehud Olmert his backing for carrying out the strike, which Syria said happened on September 6.
"When a prime minister does something that is important in my view and necessary to Israel's security ... I give my backing. And here, too, I was a partner in the issue from the start, and I gave my backing," he said, when asked about the mysterious attack.
When asked if he personally congratulated Olmert on the operation, Netanyahu said "yes," but refused to give details on the attack.
The Israeli government has categorically refused to comment in any way on the reported strike, despite a sea of international media speculation on its target.
Netanyahu's apparent slip of the tongue was splashed across the country's dailies and topped the news on radio and television.
"Netanyahu broke the Israeli silence," screamed a headline in the tabloid Maariv.
"Netanyahu claimed responsibility for the attack in Syria," proclaimed the headline in the mass-selling Yediot Aharonot.
Politicians seized upon his remarks to roast the chairman of the right-wing Likud party, which has topped opinion polls for months.
"Bibi (Netanyahu) has remained the same Bibi. I have no idea if this was stupidity, folly or a desire to hop on the carriage, a desire to be a partner, a desire to steal credit," Labour party secretary-general Eitan Cabel told army radio.
"This is simply a very very dangerous conduct, and the man is not worthy of leading."
Likud MP Yuval Steinitz, a close Netanyahu ally, conceded that the remarks "were not wise," but insisted to public radio that they did not compromise the state's security.
Olmert's office told ministers to refrain from any comments on Netanyahu's words, a senior official said, and the government spokeswoman declined to issue any statements.
But speaking on condition of anonymity to AFP, one government official slammed Netanyahu's remarks as "completely irresponsible."
As the leader of parliament's opposition bloc, Netanyahu holds regular monthly meetings with the prime minister that often touch on the state's most sensitive diplomatic and security issues.
Speculation in the international press was rife about the strike, with some reports saying the Israeli F-15 jets targeted a factory in northern Syria where North Korean nuclear material was stored.
But the only quasi confirmation has come from anonymous defence officials in Israel's main ally the United States, who have said that a "quick" strike was carried out to send a message to Damascus not to continue supporting Hezbollah, with which Israel fought a war last year.
Syria, which has filed a formal complaint over with the United Nations, has likewise declined to provide any details on it.
In another twist on arms in Syria, defence group Jane's has said Iranian engineers were among those killed in a blast at a secret Syrian military installation two months ago, claiming the base was being used to develop chemical weapons.
In the September 26 edition of Jane's Defence Weekly, Syrian defence sources were quoted as saying the explosion happened during tests to weaponise a Scud C missile with mustard gas, which is banned under international law.
Jane's said the regime in Damascus has since imposed a media black-out on the blast and had "destroyed" evidence that base was being used as a missile production site with Iranian help.
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
