Likud deputy minister says anti-regime figures in Syria wanted Netanyahu to use influence to convince int'l community to pressure Assad.
Deputy Minister for Galilee and Negev Development Ayoub Kara (Likud) on Saturday said that members of the Syrian opposition had turned to him to ask for Israel's help in stopping the violence of Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime against them. Kara made the statements at a cultural event in Beersheba.
Kara stated that he turned to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, asking him to use his influence to put pressure on Assad, but Netanyahu refused his request.
"The Syrian opposition asked for my help because of my connections. They wanted me to go to the government for help, that we would ask the UN, the US and the EU to go against Assad. I brought the request before the government but they refused to interfere," Kara stated.
The Likud politician also said that he had passed a message from Israel to Turkey that Israel would not prevent the Turks from delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza through the Red Cross.
Kara, a Druse originally from Daliat al-Carmel, has boasted in the past that he has contacts throughout the Arab world.
In 2009, he made headlines in Israel when he announced that he had visited Syrian officials from Assad's ruling Alawite sect in Washington. Kara says he often acts alone or is approached by Arab officials who seek contact with him.
http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?ID=222575&R=R1
