JERUSALEM: Israel will hold Hezbollah and Lebanon responsible for any attempt to assassinate Israelis abroad, and will retaliate, Israel’s deputy foreign minister said Sunday.
Hezbollah blamed Israel for the Feb. 12, 2008 killing of its military mastermind, Imad Moughniyeh, in Syria and vowed revenge. Israel has since reported failed bids by Hezbollah agents to target its citizens in Africa and Central Asia.
An Egyptian newspaper on Saturday reported the capture of several men linked to Al-Qaeda intent on assassinating Israel’s ambassador to Cairo. But Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said the alleged plot was “certainly” the work of Hezbollah.
“And I have one message here: If, God forbid, one hair falls off the head of any Israeli representative abroad, or of even an Israeli who is not an official representative, tourists, etc., we will consider Hezbollah responsible,” he told Israel Radio.
“The outcome for Hezbollah will, I think, be of the utmost gravity,” Ayalon said.
“For Lebanon too. It is important ... to relay this warning to Lebanon, which is responsible for Hezbollah — that they will suffer the consequences if they carry out assassinations of Israelis,” the minister added.
Egypt’s Al Masry Al Youm daily reported that the Al-Qaeda-linked men had been arrested and confessed to monitoring the Israeli Embassy and ambassador’s house with a view to killing him, but had been foiled by tight security.
Asked how he could assert that it was Hezbollah who were behind the plot rather than Al-Qaeda, Ayalon told Israel Radio: “I don’t want to get into the intelligence or operational issues here, but certainly there is both an ideological connection and a professional connection of sorts here.”
