(JTA) — Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon warned that Israel would make Lebanon and Syria pay for any Hezbollah action against Israel.
Yaalon spoke Friday during a visit to the Safed headquarters of the Israel Defense Forces’ Northern Command, the news site nrg.co.il reported.
“Israel will view governments, regimes and organizations on its northern border responsible for goings-on in their territories and will know how to exact a price in any case of attack against Israeli sovereignty, troops or civilians,” Yaalon said. “We will tolerate no attempts to target us and will know how to react with force.”
Yaalon’s visit came amid rising tensions along Israel’s northern border following a precision strike on Jan. 18 on a Hezbollah convoy traveling on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights.
Hezbollah officials vowed to retaliate against Israel, which they said was behind the attack that killed 11 of their men, including a high-ranking officer, as well as an Iranian Revolutionary Guards general. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied that it carried out the strike.
The Iranian general, Muhammad Allahdadi, was helping Hezbollah in its fight against Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Qaida’s local affiliate.
Among Hezbollah’s fatalities in the strike was Jihad Mughniyeh, the son of Hezbollah commander Imad Mughniyeh, who was killed in 2008 when a car exploded in his car in Damascus.
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