Syrian opposition denies Nasrallah claim it collaborates with Israel
"The Syrian opposition deals with Israel as a usurper and occupier of Syrian land,” rebel leader says.
By ARIEL BEN SOLOMONHezbollah's Hassan Nasrallah addresses supporters in Beirut (photo credit: REUTERS)
The Syrian opposition denied a claim made by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in a speech on Sunday that it was cooperating with Israel.“What Nasrallah said is absolutely incorrect. All that happened was the transfer of some humanitarian cases, who were aided by their families in the occupied Golan territory,” Hisham Marwah, a senior member of the Gulf and Western-backed Syrian National Coalition, told the London-based newspaper Asharq al-Awsat in a report published on Wednesday.In his comments, Nasrallah said that his ally Syrian President Bashar Assad looks set to win a fight against the rebels, who are being supported by Israel.“Today, they are having ties with the Israelis and holding meetings with the Israelis. There is cooperation on the Golan borders and logistical and fire support,” he claimed.“There are targets belonging to the Syrian Arab Army which the Israelis are bombarding on behalf of the armed opposition.”Marwah went on to say that Nasrallah’s comments were “more of a motivational, inaccurate speech by a military commander seeking to encourage his fighters.”Qasim Saad al-Din, a spokesman for the Supreme Military Council of the rebel Free Syrian Army, said that in reality it is Assad who “is the guardian of the security of Israel.”“No secret or public meetings have been held with Israeli leaders, and if this took place, we would have announced it. [The] Syrian opposition deals with Israel as a usurper and occupier of Syrian land, and we will liberate it through negotiations with the UN,” he added according to the report.Reuters contributed to this report.
