The Simon Wiesenthal Center called Thursday for an international arrest warrant to be issued for a Syria-based Hamas leader accused by Israel of being behind suicide bombings and the recent abduction of a soldier.

"The time has come for the United Nations to force Syria to give up Khaled Meshal," said Rabbi Marvin Hier, the Los Angeles-based center's founder and dean, referring to the head of Hamas' political bureau.

In a statement echoing charges by Israeli officials, Hier called Meshal "the mastermind behind the suicide bombings in Israel and now the more than 650 rocket attacks" by Palestinian militants in Gaza against an Israeli border town, as well as a "recent spate of kidnapping."

The Simon Wiesenthal Center, named after the late Nazi hunter, describes itself as an international Jewish human rights organization. The center operates the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles.

Israeli warplanes carried out a low-altitude flight over the palace of Syrian President Bashar Assad in the Mediterranean port city of Latakia in northwestern Syria on Wednesday in a threat reported to be linked to Meshal's presence in Damascus.

Israeli Justice Minister Haim Ramon said Wednesday that Meshal is a target for assassination because of what he called the Palestinian's direct involvement in anti-Israeli attacks and for ordering the abduction of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit on Sunday. Two other Israeli soldiers were killed in the operation.

Ramon also called on the international community to force Assad to expel Meshal from Damascus, where he has operated for years.

Source: Xinhua