A White House spokesman identifies the sponsors of Hizballah. “White House condemns Hezbollah, blames Iran, Syria,” from AFP, with thanks to JE:
ROSTOCK, Germany, July 12, 2006 (AFP) – The White House on Wednesday denounced the abduction of two Israeli soldiers by Lebanese militia Hezbollah and said it held Syria and Iran responsible for the attack.
“We call for the immediate and unconditional release of the two soldiers. We also hold Syria and Iran, which directly support Hezbollah, responsible for this attack and for the ensuing violence,” said national security spokesman Frederick Jones….
The United States, United Nations, Russia, Britain, Japan and the European Union condemned the kidnappings and Hezbollah rocket attacks against Israel, saying they had dangerously escalated Middle East tensions.
“We condemn in the strongest terms Hezbollah’s unprovoked attack on Israel and the kidnapping of the two Israeli soldiers. We know that Hezbollah also launched unprovoked rocket attacks on civilian targets in Israel as part of this offensive,” said Jones.
“This is a terrorist attack, and it is clearly timed to exacerbate already high tensions in the region and sow further violence,” the spokesman said.
“Hezbollah terrorism is not in Lebanon’s interest,” said Jones, adding that the group’s efforts to arm itself and carry out attacks from Lebanon are “a direct threat to the security of the Lebanese people, and the sovereignty of the Lebanese government.”