Israel pins blame on Syria for soldier capture
Olmert asks troops to pursue operations against militants
Afp, ap, Jerusalem
Israel yesterday stepped up the pressure on arch-foe Damascus, accusing it of supporting Palestinian militants behind the capture of an Israeli soldier that has sparked a new crisis in the Middle East. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert ordered security forces to pursue military operations against the militants and those who command and shelter them, in a thinly veiled reference to Damascus. "I gave the order to continue operations to strike terrorists, those who protect them and those who give them orders," he told a meeting of business leaders in the southern city of Beersheva. "We will hit all terrorists. No one who attempts to harm the state of Israel will be spared," he said. Israel has threatened to kill Hamas leaders based in Damascus and repeatedly demanded Syria take responsibility for sheltering Palestinian militants in the wake of the June 25 capture of its soldier on the Gaza border. The crisis threatened to boil over on Tuesday, as a deadline set by the soldier's Palestinian captors passed and Egyptian-led mediation appeared to have fallen flat as Israel again rejected any talks with "terrorists". Israel said yesterday a soldier seized by Palestinian militants nine days ago was alive after the expiry of an ultimatum set by his captors that was outright rejected by the Israeli government. "We are sure of our information. As I speak to you, he is alive," Israeli cabinet spokesman Avi Pazner told French television. Israel had flatly rejected a 6:00 am (0300 GMT) deadline set by three militant groups to free Palestinian prisoners or "face the consequences", and carried out another deadly raid on the Gaza Strip overnight. "We do not negotiate with terrorists. We act with all the necessary force but we do not give in to blackmail," Olmert said. "We will not let anyone believe that the kidnapping is a means of sending Israel to its knees. If we give in today, numerous civilians will be the target of kidnappings because we will be sending a message that these methods pay." On Monday, Defence Minister Amir Peretz warned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that "all the responsibility falls on him". His words were echoed by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who said after talks in Moscow that "Syria, which protects (Hamas) and grants asylum to its chiefs must understand that it can not escape responsibility for that."
| 
