Netanyahu Warns Lebanon, Syria over 'Any Attack from Their Territories'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday warned Lebanon and Syria over “any attack against Israel emanating from their territories.”

“Regarding the northern front, we are acting according to our consistent policy of not allowing Iran to entrench militarily on our northern border. Lebanon and Syria bear the responsibility for any attack against Israel emanating from their territories,” Netanyahu said at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting.

“We will not allow our security to be undermined; neither will we allow our citizens to be threatened. We will not tolerate attacks on our forces,” he added.

“Together with the Defense Minister and the Chief-of-Staff, I am holding ongoing assessments of the situation. The IDF (Israeli army) is prepared to respond to any threat,” Netanyahu went on to say.

Israeli army helicopters on Friday struck military targets in southern Syria in retaliation for earlier "munitions" fire towards the occupied Golan Heights from inside Syria. A vehicle and a civilian building were damaged, according to an Israeli army statement. 

Israel did not directly blame Syrian forces for the munitions fire, but said it held the Damascus government responsible for the incident. 

Israel has over the past days announced a reinforced troop presence on its northern border.

Several Israeli media outlets reported that the moves were made in response to an increased threat from Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hizbullah, which also has a significant presence in Syria. 

Last Monday, five Iran-backed fighters were killed in an Israeli missile strike south of the Syrian capital Damascus. Hizbullah said one of its fighters was among the dead and its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah had warned in the past that the killing of any Hizbullah member in Syria would not go unpunished.