Syria has denied a report according to which it has massed its forces along the Lebanese border in preparation for an Israeli strike.

"The report, which was published in [the London-based daily], Al-Quds Al-Arabi is totally false," Col. Ahmad Munir Muhammad, a member of the Syrian parliament's National Security Committee, told The Media Line on Wednesday.

Muhammad said that "President [Bashar Al-Assad's] message is clear: we are for a just and comprehensive peace and for the implementation of the United Nations' resolutions."

London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported Wednesday that Damascus was preparing for a large-scale Israeli attack on Syria and Hezbollah.

According to the report, the Syrian army has been staging military maneuvers and drafting some of its reserve forces in preparation for countering such a plot.

"Syria is not massing forces [along the border] and is not summoning its reserves", although "there are indications that Israel is preparing a military assault against Syria with the US backing".

"The national Lebanese resistance movement [Hezbollah] has proven that it can thwart an Israeli attack on its own," he added.

The purpose behind such an Israeli invasion, said Muhammad, would be to divert the pressure of public opinion from the "American crisis in Iraq and the crises within Israel."

SB/RE