DAMASCUS, Sept 7 (AFP) - Syria on Tuesday accused Israel of practising state terrorism "in broad daylight", adding that it was opposed to any operation that targeted civilians.
During a press conference with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, Foreign Minister Faruq al-Shara said he was "surprised that Israel had expressed doubts" on Syria's position on terrorism.
"Syria published a statement strongly denouncing the terrorist act carried out in Russia," he said, referring to the recent hostage crisis in the North Ossetian town of Beslan in which hundreds of children and adults died.
The declarations come after Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said on Tuesday that Syria backed "terrorism" and the Jewish state could only consider peace talks with Damascus if this policy changed.
"Syria is a state that patronizes terrorism. Headquarters of radical organizations in Syria are still open for business and their training camps still up and running," Shalom told Israel public radio.
Also on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's chief spokesman pledged that there would be no let-up in the campaign against the Islamic militant group Hamas whether in the occupied territories or in Syria.
"We will strike Hamas everywhere -- in Gaza, in Damascus -- in order to avoid the assassinations of Israelis," Ranan Gissin told AFP, following an overnight air strike that killed 14 Hamas fighters in Gaza.
According to Shara, Israel "practises state terrorism in broad daylight without any qualms. In Syria we are opposed to any operation that targets innocent civilians anywhere in the world".
Lavrov, who arrived Monday from Israel, said that Israeli officials he met had underlined Arab participation in the Beslan crisis and mentioned countries in the Middle East that they accused of sheltering terrorists.
The Russian minister was speaking after a meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, during which he proposed an international conference on the situation in Iraq.