Outgoing Minister of Defense Ehud Barak remained vague on Sunday regarding Israel's
purported involvement in last week's strike on a weapons convoy in
Syria.
Barak, who was speaking at an international security
conference in Munich, Germany, said, "I cannot add anything to what you
have read in the newspapers about what happened in Syria several days
ago."
"What happened in Syria several days ago [is] proof that
when we said something we mean it... we say that we don't think it
should be allowed to bring advanced weapons systems into Lebanon," the
defense minister added.
There has been no Israeli government response to last week's reported attack.
Over
the weekend, Barak told a Munich television station that Israel is
closely following “the issue of chemical weapons” in Syria, though he
refused to address Wednesday’s events.
“We are examining the
possibility of advanced weapons transfers to Hezbollah when the collapse
of Assad’s regime is complete,” he said, adding that the Syrian
president “will not survive.”
Diplomats, Syrian rebels and
security sources said Israeli jets bombed a convoy near the Lebanese
border on Wednesday, apparently hitting weapons destined for the
Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which fought a 34-day war with Israel
in 2006.
Syria denied the assertions, saying the target was the
Jamraya complex on the northwestern fringes of Damascus and 8 miles (13
km) from the border.
Some of the diplomats and security sources
said the apparently contradictory accounts might refer to the same
incident, given Jamraya's proximity to the border and the fact that
vehicles inside the complex were hit as well as buildings.
Syrian
television broadcast footage from the Jamraya base for the first time,
showing extensive damage to buildings and several heavy military
vehicles which appeared capable of carrying missiles. At least one
vehicle, with light desert khaki markings, was equipped with what looked
like a satellite dish.
Several burnt out cars and trucks -
including one with a large hole smashed through the roof of the driver's
cabin - could also be seen in the footage, as well as the badly damaged
interior of an office.
Yaakov Lappin contributed to this report.