The Syrian Information Minister proves he has learnt a thing or two from the former Iraqi Information Minister.
Syrian Information Minister Ahmed al-Hasan said Islamic Jihad has closed its Damascus offices voluntarily, ending its official presence in Syria.
Islamic Jihad has announced more than once that it has closed down its offices in Syria voluntarily and as such no offices for the group exist in Damascus although the ones which were shut down had strictly information functions, al-Hasan said in an interview with the Saudi daily Al-Sharq al-Awsat, monitored in Beirut.
He rejected Israeli accusations two Islamic Jihad would-be bombers who had planned a foiled attack against a school in northern Israel received orders from the group’s command in Damascus.
Israeli accusations are mainly aimed at undermining Syria and provoking it as a prelude to dragging the region to a confrontation that would abort efforts for peace, which Israel does not want in the first place, al-Hasan said.
He said Syria has no influence on Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah but supports it like any other honorable resistance movement struggling to free its national land.
