[h=3]By SAM DAGHER and FARNAZ FASSIHI in Beirut, and JOSHUA MITNICK in Tel Aviv[/h]Syria and its allies on Thursday condemned this week's Israeli airstrike inside Syria, but showed little sign of mounting any military response.
The Iranian-backed Lebanese militia and political group Hezbollah backed the Syrian government's assertion late Wednesday that Israeli warplanes coming from the direction of the Golan Heights had struck a military-research facility on the outskirts of Damascus.
Instead of issuing retaliatory warnings, Hezbollah expressed a hope that the Israeli action would cause the Syrian opposition "to rethink their position and adopt political dialogue as the sole basis for a solution to stem Syrian blood."
The group also contradicted the version of U.S. officials briefed on the raid, who said Israel had struck a convoy of trucks crossing into neighboring Lebanon and carrying Russian-made SA-17 missiles to Hezbollah.
Most officials and observers in the region appeared focused on the impact of the Israel move on the nearly two-year civil conflict in Syria and recent steps by the warring Syrian parties to encourage dialogue.
"The attack starkly exposes the origins of what has been happening in Syria for two years and its criminal dimensions that are aimed at destroying Syria and its army and its pivotal role in the axis of resistance," Hezbollah said in a statement. Like Iran, the group is a staunch ally of the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
On Wednesday, Mouaz al-Khatib, head of the Western-backed Syrian opposition umbrella group known as the National Coalition, said he was willing to start a dialogue with representatives of the Syrian government provided it releases 160,000 opposition detainees.
That provoked a sharp rebuke from other members of the coalition, prompting Mr. al-Khatib to issue a clarification that he was making a a personal initiative to help stem the daily bloodshed in Syria, and that further discussions would take place within the opposition on his proposal.
Syrian state television continued to criticize Israel in its broadcasts Thursday, though Mr. Assad's government has yet to add to the formal statement issued by its armed forces on Wednesday, which said only that it was up to the Syrian government "to take up the matter with the international community."
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi condemned Israel's attack, describing it as a blatant violation of Syria's sovereignty, according to IRNA, Iran's official news agency.
"There is no doubt that this is a violation in line with the West and Zionist policies to suppress the victory of Syria's government and its people in strengthening Syria's regime and restoring order," he said on Thursday.
Mr. Salehi added that Muslim countries should be aware and alert in order to prevent "repeated crimes by the Zionist regime."
The Israeli government maintained its silence over the strike inside Syria, though analysts there expressed confidence that the reported attack won't lead to a regional flare-up.
"Syria is now preoccupied by the civil war. An all-out war is the last thing that it can handle now,'" said Yitzhak Ben Yisrael, a reserve general, in an interview with Israel Radio. He said the chances for an all-out war are `"very low."
"Hezbollah is not at its peak today. Its main ally, Syria, appears to be collapsing and Hezbollah is worried. The last thing it wants is to get into a war, like in 2006, only because Syria is collapsing."
The Iranian-backed Lebanese militia and political group Hezbollah backed the Syrian government's assertion late Wednesday that Israeli warplanes coming from the direction of the Golan Heights had struck a military-research facility on the outskirts of Damascus.
Instead of issuing retaliatory warnings, Hezbollah expressed a hope that the Israeli action would cause the Syrian opposition "to rethink their position and adopt political dialogue as the sole basis for a solution to stem Syrian blood."
The group also contradicted the version of U.S. officials briefed on the raid, who said Israel had struck a convoy of trucks crossing into neighboring Lebanon and carrying Russian-made SA-17 missiles to Hezbollah.
Most officials and observers in the region appeared focused on the impact of the Israel move on the nearly two-year civil conflict in Syria and recent steps by the warring Syrian parties to encourage dialogue.
"The attack starkly exposes the origins of what has been happening in Syria for two years and its criminal dimensions that are aimed at destroying Syria and its army and its pivotal role in the axis of resistance," Hezbollah said in a statement. Like Iran, the group is a staunch ally of the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
On Wednesday, Mouaz al-Khatib, head of the Western-backed Syrian opposition umbrella group known as the National Coalition, said he was willing to start a dialogue with representatives of the Syrian government provided it releases 160,000 opposition detainees.
That provoked a sharp rebuke from other members of the coalition, prompting Mr. al-Khatib to issue a clarification that he was making a a personal initiative to help stem the daily bloodshed in Syria, and that further discussions would take place within the opposition on his proposal.
Syrian state television continued to criticize Israel in its broadcasts Thursday, though Mr. Assad's government has yet to add to the formal statement issued by its armed forces on Wednesday, which said only that it was up to the Syrian government "to take up the matter with the international community."
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi condemned Israel's attack, describing it as a blatant violation of Syria's sovereignty, according to IRNA, Iran's official news agency.
"There is no doubt that this is a violation in line with the West and Zionist policies to suppress the victory of Syria's government and its people in strengthening Syria's regime and restoring order," he said on Thursday.
Mr. Salehi added that Muslim countries should be aware and alert in order to prevent "repeated crimes by the Zionist regime."
The Israeli government maintained its silence over the strike inside Syria, though analysts there expressed confidence that the reported attack won't lead to a regional flare-up.
"Syria is now preoccupied by the civil war. An all-out war is the last thing that it can handle now,'" said Yitzhak Ben Yisrael, a reserve general, in an interview with Israel Radio. He said the chances for an all-out war are `"very low."
"Hezbollah is not at its peak today. Its main ally, Syria, appears to be collapsing and Hezbollah is worried. The last thing it wants is to get into a war, like in 2006, only because Syria is collapsing."