Damascus, (SANA) – Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem on Tuesday expressed regret that the US Department of State has adopted Israel's allegations claiming that Syria is providing SCUD missiles to Hezbollah Party in Lebanon.

Al-Moallem said in a statement that US officials were warned against ignoring the Israeli motives behind these allegations which aim at reshuffling cards and diverting attention from Israel's crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories in Jerusalem, the West Bank and the siege of Gaza Strip which has been internationally condemned, in addition to the standing crisis in Israel's foreign relations due to its defiance of the international community by rejecting the basic requirements of just and comprehensive peace.

The Foreign Minister pointed out that, based on the Israeli allegations, the US Department of State summoned the second person at the Syrian embassy in Washington.

He noted that Syria had already released an official statement a few days ago strongly denying the Israeli allegations that aim at increasing tension in the region and creating an atmosphere that prepares for a possible Israeli aggression, adding that the entire issue has become exposed.

Analysts: US Administration, without verification, Takes the Israeli Claims that Syria Gives Scud Missile to Hezbollah

British writer Robert Fisk said that the US administration, without verification, took the Israeli president Shimon Peres' claims that Syria supplies Hezbollah with SCUD missiles.

Fisk, specialized in Middle East affairs, told al-Jazeera satellite Channel on Tuesday that the Israelis resort to threaten Syria and try to launch more threats aiming at destroying the rapprochement between Syria and the USA. The US administration knows what the Israelis aim at.

He said that Israel will lose if it wages a war against Hezbollah because Hezbollah is a strong military organization and it is competent more than any other organization in Middle East.

"I rule out that Hezbollah has SCUD missiles which need days to be moved from one place to another," he added.

Fisk added that the Israeli fears over the Iranian nuclear file, saying "Israel hopes that the current US administration go and comes to power another one headed by John McCain or any other president who advocates Israel and does not oppose occupying the West Bank."

For his part, British journalist Patrick Seale considered that Israel tries through the latest statements on Syria's supplying SCUD missiles to Hezbollah to trigger problems between Syria and the USA and affect the developments of the peace process at the same time when the USA is planning to send the new ambassador to Damascus.

Seale, specialized in Middle East affairs, pointed out in a speech to the BBC that the Israeli government headed by Netanyahu can't achieve progress in peace process and tries through these statements to delay discussion on peace and launch threats to affect the international situation.

Seale said Israel doesn't want Hezbollah, which drove it out of Lebanon, to have any power and that it seeks to undermine its presence, affirming the failure of the Israeli aggression against Lebanon in 2006.

He also noted that Israel is worried over reports that suggest which US President Barack Obama intends to launch his own peace plan, which is the last thing Israel wants.

For his part, Director of the Near East and Gulf Center for Military Analysis Riad Qahwaji said that SCUDmissiles are very large, measuring 41 meters with their transporter, which makes transporting such weapons across borders without being seen by satellites very difficult.

"Therefore, it would be easy for the US or any other country that owns surveillance satellites to uncover such a thing as it cannot be kept a secret," Qahwaji said.

Qahwaji added that SCUD missiles are too large for Hezbollah's style of operations that relies on speed of movement and ease of concealment, and such missiles cannot be hidden in Lebanon as Hezbollah will have great difficulty in moving and launching them, especially since they use liquid fuel and require an hour of preparation in an open and flat area before being launched, which isn't possible given Lebanon's topography.

He also noted that a specialist Russian officer informed him that launching SCUD missiles is complicated and difficult, and that a group like Hezbollah that uses guerilla tactics cannot use such missiles that are mainly used by armies for strategic and not tactical goals.

US State Department: Washington Hasn't Yet Verified Whether Syria Provided Scud Missiles to Hezbollah

US Department of State spokesman Philip J. Crowley told journalists that the United States has not yet verified whether Syria provided Scud missiles to Hezbollah.

Crowley, asked if Washington had any proof that the missiles were sent, responded by saying that the US hasn't yet verified whether these weapons had been transferred, and that they haven't reached any particular judgement in this regard.

H. Sabbagh / I. al-Kazhali / M.O.