Israel wishes to initiate talks that would culminate with a permanent peace agreement with Syria, a top aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said On Thursday, adding, however, that Jerusalem would continue to react against any threats to its safety.
Speaking after a meeting between Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, Nir Hefetz, head of the National Information Directorate in the prime minister's bureau, said the two wished to emphasize their commitment to peace with Israel's neighbor to the north.
Hefetz said that Lieberman and Netanyahu wished to clarify that the "government's policy is clear, that Israel desires peace and to engage in unconditional talks with Syria."
"At the same time," Hefetz added, "Israel would continue to assertively and decisively react against any threat made against it."
The comments by Netanyahu's top aide came after Army Radio reported earlier Thursday that FM Lieberman warned Syrian President Bashar Assad that if his country entered a conflict with Israel, it would not only lose, but his regime would also disintegrate.
"Assad should know that if he attacks, he will not only lose the war. Neither he nor his family will remain in power," Lieberman told the audience during a business conference at Bar-Ilan University.
The foreign minister's remarks come after Assad on Wednesday told Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos that Israel was pushing the Middle East toward a new war.
"Our message should be that if Assad's father lost a war but remained in power, the son should know that an attack would cost him his regime," Lieberman continued. "This is the message that must be conveyed to the Syrian leader by Israel."
Lieberman said that Assad's comments "crossed a line" by directly threatening Israel and implying that any future conflict between Israel and Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah would draw Syria into war.
"Whoever thinks territorial concessions will disconnect Syria from the axis of evil is mistaken," Lieberman said. "Syria must be made to understand that it has to relinquish its demand for the Golan Heights."
Lieberman's comments drew harsh criticism on Thursday from a range of Knesset members, some of whom urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to rein him in or dismiss him.
"Netanyahu must stop war instigator Lieberman," said Labor MK Eitan Cabel.
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