Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Thursday sent a stern warning to Syria not to engage Israel in battle, saying President Bashar al-Assad would lose not only the war but also his job. "When there is another war, you will not just lose it, but you and your family will lose power," he said.
"This must be our message because all that interests him is not human life, human values. The only value for him is power and that's what must be targeted," Lieberman said, according to AFP. "There must be a correlation, because unfortunately until now a military defeat did not mean a loss of power," he said.
The Israeli minister noted that former Egyptian President Gamal Nasser and Syria's ex-leader Hafez al-Assad both stayed in power after they were defeated in wars against Israel. "It should be clear that if he provokes us it will end badly for him on the battlefield but also for his power. I hope this message will be heard in Damascus," the minister.
Assad said on Wednesday that Israel is not serious in seeking peace and that all signs are that it is "working towards a war."Lieberman reacted angrily to these comments. "A line has been crossed. We cannot not react," he said.
