Israelis hail 2007 strike on alleged Syria nuke reactor

JERUSALEM

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Wednesday described the Israeli decision to destroy a suspected Syrian nuclear reactor in 2007 as “historic and brave”.

His assertions come in the wake of an Israeli army statement admitting -- for the first time -- that Israeli warplanes had in fact destroyed the suspected reactor in northeastern Syria almost 11 years ago.

Lieberman, who had been serving as strategic affairs minister at the time, said some cabinet members had voiced hesitation while others had strongly endorsed the proposed operation.

“This historic and brave decision… proved that we cannot be deterred on matters of security,” Lieberman said in a statement released following the revelations.

“Try to imagine what would have happened if we hadn’t acted,” he added. “We would face a nuclear Syria.”

In a separate statement, Israeli Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz said the operation’s successful outcome had “made it clear that Israel would not allow those who threaten our existence to have nuclear weapons”.

Zionist Union MP Tzipi Livni, for her part, who had been serving as foreign minister in 2007, described the operation as “one of the most important security and strategic decisions Israel has taken in recent decades”.

In her own statement, Livni recalled: “We sat there in the command bunker in the Kirya Base listening to reports on the operation’s progress and receiving the update that the reactor had been eliminated.”

Earlier Wednesday, the Israeli army admitted that its warplanes had struck the facility -- located in Syria’s Deir al-Zour desert -- on Sept. 5 and 6 of 2007.

“The operation was conducted following complex intelligence efforts by dropping 17 tons of explosives [on the facility] using laser-guided bombs,” the army said in a statement.

It went on to assert that the suspected reactor had been close to completion when it was destroyed.

Syrian regime officials, meanwhile, have yet to officially comment on the army's admission.