Syria said on Wednesday that Israel was responsible for clashes between the Jewish state and Lebanese Hizbollah militia in which two Israeli soldiers were captured.

Syrian Vice President Farouk al-Shara made the remarks while speaking to reporters, the state-run television reported.

The Israeli occupation provoked the Palestinian and Lebanese people and "the resistance in south Lebanon and among the Palestinian people decides solely what to do and why", al-Shara was quoted as saying.

Earlier, Hizbollah claimed that it had kidnapped two Israeli soldiers, demanding Israel release prisoners held in Israeli jails in exchange for the two soldiers.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called Hizbollah's attack " an act of war", vowing a "very painful and far-reaching" response.

Olmert declined to negotiate over the fate of two soldiers who went missing during the border violence.

Israeli troops traded fire with Hizbollah militia across the border after at least two rockets fired by Hizbollah hit northern Israel, wounding four Israelis.

Two Lebanese civilians and seven Israeli soldiers have been killed in violence between the two sides.

Wednesday's violence came as Israeli troops pressed ahead a massive offensive in the Gaza Strip in a bid to free an Israeli soldier kidnapped by Palestinian militants on June 25 and stop Palestinian rocket attacks.

Source: Xinhua