Syria's banned Muslim Brotherhood urged President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday to work for national reconciliation to forge a united front against Israel.
In a communique issued in London and received here, the fundamentalist group's leader, Ali Sadreddin Bayanuni, denounced the "threats" of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak against Syria and Lebanon.
He urged Assad to "take these threats seriously and prepare to oppose any possible aggression."
Lebanese guerrillas captured three Israeli soldiers on Saturday, and Barak said he ultimately holds Syria responsible.
To unify ranks, Bayanuni called on Assad to "open a new page in the history of the country, starting with increased public liberty and the freeing of all political prisoners."
The Muslim Brotherhood was subjected to severe repression in the 1980s by Assad's late father, Hafez, who suspected them of being responsible for a wave of terrorist bombings in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
It seeks a repeal of a 1980 law under which all members and sympathizers of the Muslim Brotherhood face imprisonment in Syria -- AMMAN (AFP)
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