Israel to Urge Joint US Airstrikes against Syria

An anonymous Israeli official has told the Guardian that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to use time during President Obama's upcoming Israel visit to gain U.S. support for possible military strikes against Syria.

According to the reporting, Israel would like the U.S. to engage in airstrikes--or at least support strikes by Israeli forces--if it suspects that the Syrians were passing weapons to its Hezbollah allies in neighboring Lebanon.

Reportedly, Israeli officials are willing to hit Syrian missile installations or convoys "even if [such actions] risk provoking a cross-border conflict with Hezbollah."

Adding to a long list of demands coming from Israel--including support for military intervention in Iran--Israel cited unsubstantiated claims of Syrian anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles along the border and rumors that Syria is transferring missiles to Hezbollah in Lebanon, as reasons for the U.S. and Israel to engage militarily with the war-torn country.

"What I hear over and over again from Israeli generals is that another war with Hezbollah is inevitable," a U.S. diplomat stated.

The Guardian adds:

Netanyahu's office concedes that it is more likely to succeed in securing US support over Syrian missiles than to persuade Obama to share the Israeli prime minister's position on Iran. There have been many exchanges between the Israeli and US governments in the run-up to the Obama visit attempting to narrow the gap between their Iran policies.

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