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Itamar Rabinovich, who as Israel’s ambassador to Washington conducted unfruitful negotiations with Syria, told Israel Radio looked like Damascus wanted to talk rather than fight.
But while the Syrian leadership was looking for dialogue with Washington, it was determined to carry out retaliation for IDF actions against Lebanese targets.

Itamar Rabinovich is a former Israeli ambassador to the United States who engaged in negotiations with Syria but was unable to reach a fruitful agreement. He told Israel Radio that the Syrian leadership appeared to be seeking dialogue with Washington, but was also determined to retaliate against Israeli actions against Lebanese targets.
He suggested that "Assad's army seemed weak," but warned "there could be a surprise." In an interview on Israeli television, Rabinovich said that the recent deployment of hundreds of Syrian troops and armored personnel carriers to Lebanon’s border, along with Hezbollah reinforcements, was part of a larger pattern. "Assad is trying to build a new strategic alliance with Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon and is trying to establish Lebanon