Risk of all-out war between Israel, Syria, warns Israel general
( 2001-10-22 16:41 ) (7 )

Israel's deputy chief of staff, General Moshe Yaalom, fears there is a growing risk of all-out war with neighbouring Syria, Israeli public radio said on Monday in Jerusalem.

The general apparently gave no further details, except to say that the civilian population in the north of the country could, in the event of an outbreak of hostilities, face rocket attacks from Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas.

The radio said Yaalom also accused Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority of using words rather than deeds in its pledged crackdown on extremist groups threatening to destroy a severely overstrained ceasefire agreed last month.

He said the move aimed to improve Arafat's international standing rather than tackle the problem.

An army spokesman was unable to give further clarifications on the general's comments.