Liberman says Israel not looking to pick fight in Syria

In candid comments addressing Israeli strikes on Syria, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman says the IDF only carries out raids for three reasons: when Israel comes under fire, to prevent arms transfers, and to avert a “ticking timebomb,” namely to thwart imminent terror attacks on Israel by groups on its borders.

“We are not looking to provoke or to intervene,” Liberman says, referring to recent airstrikes on Syrian territory. “Not in favor of any [side] or against.”

He adds that “we have no intention to change our policy” regarding Israeli strikes.

The defense minister does not, however, explicitly signal what the IDF was targeting.

On Sunday, a reported Israeli drone strike hit a vehicle near Quneitra in the Syrian Golan, killing a man purported to be a commander from a pro-regime militia. According to unsourced reports in Israeli media, the man had been planning attacks against Israel along with Iran.

Addressing ongoing coalition tensions, the Yisrael Beytenu leader reiterates that “no one wants elections.”

But he warns that Israel may nonetheless find itself facing snap polls if leaders fail to use “common sense.”

At the start of the weekly faction meeting, he also rules out an alternative coalition without fresh elections, as has been proposed by Zionist Union leader Isaac Herzog.

“There is no option for an alternative coalition,” he says.

The minister says intensive efforts are being made to bridge Netanyahu and Kahlon’s demands on the new public broadcaster, expressing hope that they “will reach a creative solution everyone can live with.”

— Marissa Newman