Israeli opposition leader decries attacks on Syrian capital as ‘relentless behaviour’

JERUSALEM / ISTANBUL

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid on Thursday denounced Israeli airstrikes on the Syrian capital, Damascus, as “reckless behavior.”

“Attacking the Presidential Palace in Damascus undermines the (Syrian) regime and doesn’t serve our strategic goals,” Yair Lapid told Israel’s public broadcaster KAN.

“It is a reckless behavior. The Middle East follows it and realizes that we believe laws do not apply to us,” he said.

Lapid expressed his disapproval of endangering the Syrian state “under the efforts made by the United States and Europe to achieve stability there.”

At least three people were killed and dozens injured in a series of Israeli attacks in Damascus on Wednesday. Tel Aviv claims that the attacks aim to protect the Druze community in Syria.

However, most Druze leaders in Syria have issued joint statements rejecting foreign interference, reaffirming their commitment to a unified Syria and opposing any moves toward division or secession.

On Wednesday, Syria’s Interior Ministry confirmed a new ceasefire agreement in Suwayda after clashes between armed Druze and Bedouin groups in the southern province, which left at least 30 people dead.

The deal provides for the province’s full reintegration under central government control.