Avigdor
Lieberman, a far-right Knesset member, threatened to destroy the Syrian
capitol, Damascus, if Hezbollah attacks Israel in revenge for the
assassination of its top military commander, Imad Mugniyah, on February
13th, 2008.
“We must negotiate
with Syria only over security arrangements in Lebanon, not the Golan
Heights,” Lieberman said while meeting with Russian Jewish immigrants in
the American state of New Jersey.
“It
should be made clear to [Syrian President Bashar] Assad that if
Hezbollah targets the residents of northern Israel, all of Syria will
pay, and Assad and his family will lose their rule of the Baath party
and will all die. We will not leave a single stone untouched,” he added.
Lieberman
said that a democratic state cannot face terrorist threats in the
traditional way. “The US managed to destroy Saddam Hussein’s army in a
short period of time, but it is now covered in Iraqi mud because
it failed to use the same means that terrorist organizations are using,
such as suicide bombings and using residents as human shields.”
“Instead
of fighting terrorist organizations, we must fight the head. In the
case of Hezbollah, Assad is the head, because the party cannot survive
without Syrian support,” Lieberman told the crowd.