Al-Sadr slams Israeli strikes on Syria, demands Arab leaders act now

Shafaq News/ The leader of the Patriotic Shiite Movement (Sadrist,) Muqtada al-Sadr, condemned Israeli airstrikes on Syria, calling on Arab governments to take a stand against such actions.

In a statement, al-Sadr said, “We are closely monitoring the Zionist [Israeli] colonial movements and their terrorist attacks on the brotherly Syrian Arab Republic.”

The Shiite cleric urged the Arab governments in general and the Syrian government in particular, especially the Syrian transitional president, “to avoid sectarian statements and not remain passive in the face of Israeli bombardment and its colonial incursions into Syrian territory.”

Al-Sadr emphasized that abandoning sectarian rhetoric would strengthen Islamic unity and bolster a strong Arab and Islamic position against Israeli and US aggression in Syria, Lebanon, and Gaza.

The Israeli army said it carried out airstrikes on military sites in southern Syria on Tuesday, targeting weapon depots and command centers, just days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for the complete demilitarization of the area. According to a war monitor, at least two people were killed in a Damascus-area military unit by the strikes.