Lieberman criticizes Netanyahu for admitting Syria attack

Former Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman attacked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after he confirmed the latest Israeli attack on an Iranian base in Syria.

“We operate every day, including yesterday, against Iran and its attempts to establish its presence in the region,” Netanyahu said in response to a journalist’s question before leaving for an international conference in Warsaw.

He added: “I can tell you unequivocally that the economic pressure is palpable and that the economic crisis is also affecting Iran’s attacks on us. We are seeing budget cuts, troop cuts, troop withdrawals and we are seeing this in every region of the world without exception.”

“We see it in Syria, we see it in Lebanon, we see it in the Gaza Strip, and we also see it in very important weapons systems that Iran has difficulty using, partly because of financial problems and, above all, because of Israel’s active military resistance.”

He wondered whether the countries of Western Europe and the European Union are deliberately ignoring what Iran is doing. These states simply ignore the fact that Iran is supporting terrorist groups on their territory, Netanyahu said.

But Lieberman considered the prime minister’s statement unnecessary after Netanyahu became increasingly open about carrying out air strikes in Syria in light of the upcoming elections in April.

Sources close to the Israeli prime minister said the change of course was initiated by outgoing Israeli Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot. Eizenkot had claimed that Israel had attacked Syria several times to prevent an Iranian military presence there.