Hezbollah: We will defend Syria against Israel, US

Ibrahim Amin Sayyed says Hezbollah would not intervene in Syrian conflict, but would act to stop intervention from Israel, US.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Ibrahim Amin Sayyed 370 (photo credit: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir)
Ibrahim Amin Sayyed 370
(photo credit: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir)
Hezbollah is ready to protect Syria against Israel and the US, a Hezbollah official was quoted by the Lebanese Daily Star as saying on Saturday.
"Hezbollah is ready to prevent Syria falling under the control of Tel Aviv and Washington," Ibrahim Amin Sayyed said at a memorial service in Baalbek.
Sayyed maintained the organization is not intervening in the Syrian conflict, but rather "it is an intervention in the conflict against America and Israel."
"We are present in Syria at the political and the strategic levels and for the defense of the great cause [Palestine]," he added, noting Hezbollah does not work against the needs and demands of the Syrian people.
"On the contrary, we support the people in their demands to reach a situation that preserves their dignity and freedom and ensures their participation in political life," he said.
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On Friday, foreign news agencies reported that Israel has carried out an air strike into Syria, targeting a shipment of missiles bound for Hezbollah guerrillas in neighboring Lebanon. Reuters reportedly received confirmation from an Israeli source that this strike occurred.
While Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has announced countless of times in the past that Israel is ready to defend itself against Syria's chemical weapons, and said that it would act to prevent these weapons from falling into the hands of Hezbollah and other terrorist groups, the prime minister also maintained that Israel has no desire to intervene in the Syrian conflict.
US President Barack Obama, meanwhile, said on Friday that he does not foresee a scenario in which he would send US ground troops to Syria. He added that leaders in the region he consulted with on the matter agreed with him.
Reuters contributed to this report.