In interview with Israeli-Arab newspaper, Syrian Parliament member says Dimona nuclear reactor within range of Syrian missiles. 'Nothing will stop the Syrian soldier's fervor in this situation,' he says
Roee Nahmias
Syrian MP Dr. Muhammad Habash warned Israel not to attack his country in an interview with the Israeli-Arab news paper Ma'a al-Hadat published on Thursday saying Israel's nuclear reactor might be hit in retaliation in such a situation.     
The Syrian official said that his nation is considering its response in the case of an Israeli attack.
"The prospect that Israel might take some adventurous steps is reasonable to assume. In the last year, the Israelis decided to carry out some risky maneuvers and they were on the losing side and even today there are those that are pushing for war—even though Israel was on the losing side," the Syrian MP said.  
"The possibility that Israel were to infringe upon Syria's sovereignty is a possibility that exists and that we're not ruling out, although at the same time, we are not looking to reach this stage and we do not want to escalate the situation," he said in the interview.
Dr. Habash, one of the more prominent Syrian spokesmen in the media, was asked if Syria would be able to impede Israeli aggression. He answered saying: "The Dimona reactor is located within range of our missiles. Nothing will stop the fervor of the Syrian solder and the Syrian warrior in this situation."
The Syrian MP also discussed issues related to Israeli-Syrian negotiations. According to Dr. Habash, there are no Israeli-Syrian backchannels and Damascus only supports public negotiations in which its demands are very clear—the return of the Golan Heights as well as half a million Palestinian refugees currently residing in Syria to Israel.  
"Every time the Israelis say there are secret contacts going on between Israel and Syria but it soon becomes clear that these remarks are made simply for domestic political concerns in Tel Aviv. Syria doesn't need clandestine negotiations. We're ready for public talks. If this is so, why engage in clandestine negotiations?" 
"The mediation between Syria and Israel has never ended. The Russians are aiding in the mediation as well as the Turks and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon as well number of other countries that have mutual interests," the Syrian MP told the interviewer.
"If half million Palestinian refugees that are currently living on Syrian land are returned to Israel or their lands in Palestine, and the Golan Heights is reinstated as Syrian, then we would be able to say thank God and enjoy the long-awaited peace," Dr. Habash said.
In the meantime, Dr. Habash is promising that normalization with Israel will not occur as long as negotiations are not completed. "Syria is not thinking about normalization with Israel before peace is achieved because normalization for free is assumed to be bribery."
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