Netanyahu in North threatens Iran: We will not tolerate attacks on Israel

"I want to stress this was Iran's initiative, it was under Iran's command, and it was an Iranian mission," he added.

By HERB KEINON
Prime Minister and Defense Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with senior IDF officials in the North, August 25, 2019 (photo credit: HAIM ZACH/GPO)
Prime Minister and Defense Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with senior IDF officials in the North, August 25, 2019
(photo credit: HAIM ZACH/GPO)
Less than 24 hours after attacking Iranian forces in Syria, and less than a month before the elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu toured the north on Sunday and – in a rare confirmation of a cross-border operation – quoted the Talmudic dictum: “If someone rises to kill you, rise up and kill him first.”
“In a complex operation by the security services, we discovered that the Iranian Quds Force sent a special team of Shi’ite militants through Syria to kill Israelis in the Golan Heights, using explosive drones,” Netanyahu said.
"I want to stress this was Iran's initiative, it was under Iran's command, and it was an Iranian mission," he added.
The prime minister's comments came as he toured the North and held security consultations with IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi and other senior IDF officials.
Israel preempted the Iranian attack, Netanyahu said, adding that Israel will uncover all efforts by Iran to attack it and to hide behind various excuses.
“I want to emphasize that we will not tolerate attacks on Israel from any country in the region,” he said. Any country that allows its territory to be used for attacks against Israel will bear the consequences, and I stress, the country will beat the consequences.
Israel is believed to have attacked Iranian assets in Syria on dozens of occasions over the last two years, though it rarely takes such public credit for the action.
On Friday, Netanyahu spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has a massive military presence inside Syria. According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office, the two leaders discussed regional developments and the situation in Syria, “with an emphasis on strengthening the military coordination between the two countries.”
The two countries put in place a mechanism following Russian’s engagement in Syria’s Civil War in 2015 in order to prevent accidental military engagement between their militaries.