Jerusalem, March 13 (IANS) The Israeli military on Wednesday said a terror network of the Shia Islamist movement Hezbollah was emerging in the Syrian Golan Heights and alleged that it had equipment that could be used to attack Israel.
Israel alleged the network was created upon the orders of the Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who relied on dozens of activists from nearby towns.
“The IDF (Israel Defence Forces) is exposing a Hezbollah terror network on the Syrian Golan Heights aimed at striking Israel,” Head of Israeli military media branch Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said in a video published on the official Twitter account of the military.
The Israeli colonel said that Ali Musa Daqduq, a well-known extremist who was held accountable for the killing of five American soldiers who served in Iraq in 2007, was responsible for the formation of the network, Efe news reported.
According to Lt Conricus, Daqduq was imprisoned in Iraq and then released as part of a prison swap.
“Now what we have today is an infrastructure masterminded and operated by Hezbollah from Lebanon but on Syrian soil, using the local civilian infrastructure as observation points collecting intelligence against Israeli targets,” he added.
The report said that Israeli military immediately responded by intensifying security at the border in the occupied part of the Golan Heights by increasing troops in the area and establishing transportation routes.
“We have a clear message: We are not going to allow Hezbollah to establish a terror infrastructure on the Golan capable of striking Israeli civilians,” Conricus said.
Meanwhile, Israel demanded that the Syrian government must honour the 1974 agreement, which was signed by the two parties in Geneva and aimed at the disengagement of forces after the 1973 war between the two countries and to prevent any hostile activity against Israel.
“We hold the Syrian regime responsible for anything that happens inside Syria aimed at Israel. We expect the Syrian regime to implement the 1974 agreement just as we are doing,” Conricus said.
“Anybody who cares about regional stability should be concerned about the fact that Hezbollah is trying to build a terror network on our doorstep.”
Earlier this month, the UK announced it would include Hezbollah on a list of terrorist organisations, banning membership of or support for the group.
–IANS
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