Israel had ‘no connection’ with exploding pager attack, president claims

Isaac Herzog said he ‘rejects out of hand any connection’ to the operation against Hezbollah in recent days.

Israeli president Isaac Herzog said Hezbollah has created havoc in Lebanon (Justin Tallis/PA) (PA Archive)

Israel has appeared to deny involvement with the fatal exploding pager attack which injured thousands of people across the Middle East.

Israeli president Isaac Herzog said he “rejects out of hand any connection” to the operation against Hezbollah on Tuesday and his nation has an “inherent right” to defend itself.

Hezbollah has vowed to retaliate against Israel for a wave of explosions that hit pagers and walkie-talkies belonging to Hezbollah members on Tuesday and Wednesday, killing at least 37 people – including two children – and wounding about 3,000.

The attacks were widely blamed on Israel, which has not confirmed or denied responsibility.

There are terrible tragedies in this war and we never want to get there, but we have the inherent right to defend ourselves

Israeli president Isaac Herzog

Mr Herzog told Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips on Sky News: “First of all, I reject out of hand any connection to this, or that source of operation.

“All I would say is that just at the opening of the Olympic Games 12 Israeli children of the Druze religion were murdered by a terrible missile attack, a rocket attack by Hezbollah in Majdal Shams where they were playing football.

“There are terrible tragedies in this war and we never want to get there, but we have the inherent right to defend ourselves and the fact is that houses have been demolished, Israelis were killed, Muslims, Christians, Druze and Jews all in the northern part of Israel where they live peacefully.

“They are evacuated from their home for a year and Hezbollah keeps on sending its missiles against our people endlessly – at the end you have the right to defend yourself.”

On whether Israel denies responsibility for recent explosions this week or if they were caused by someone else, he said: “I did not allude to anything except to say there are many enemies of Hezbollah out there, quite a few these days.

“Hezbollah has been choking (and) destroying Lebanon, creating havoc in Lebanon again and again and again. We are here simply to defend ourselves – that’s all we do and we make clear we have to take action like any normal nation would do, like Britain would do or any other sovereign nation in order to defend its people.”

Husam Zomlot, Palestinian ambassador to the UK, said people in the region are “absolutely just waiting for the worst” and “nobody is expecting things to de-escalate” against a backdrop of failure from the international community.

He also described Mr Herzog as more like “a security spokesman rather than a president” and questioned whether he is seeking to find a solution while Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has “refused all these offers” for a ceasefire.

Mr Zomlot told Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips on Sky News: “I think it is well documented now that the Israeli government has not only changed the goalposts when it came to the negotiations about the ceasefire, but the whole pitch all together.

“So, everybody is hurt, is worried, is concerned, is really bleeding and everybody is bracing for the worse – unfortunately.”

Of Mr Herzog, he added: “I was listening to a security spokesman rather than a president who would really give a way out of this, out of this tragedy, out of this mayhem, and provide a peace vision, for all concerned, leave the propaganda about babies beheaded and rape to the, you know, security spokespeople.”

The comments come as Lebanon’s Hezbollah launched more than 100 rockets across northern Israel, with some landing near the city of Haifa, as the sides appear to be heading for all-out war.

The barrage came after an Israeli air strike in Beirut on Friday killed at least 37 people, including one of Hezbollah’s top leaders as well as women and children.