"In order to put an end to Hezbollah's attacks, it is necessary to attack strategic targets in Damascus, such as the army headquarters, the central electricity board, the telephone exchange, the public broadcasting house or the presidential palace, even if this last site has a more symbolic character," Lieberman told army radio.

"It is effectively Syria which is responsible for everything that is going on in Lebanon, and it is through (Syrian) territory that the weapons from Iran reach Hezbollah," said the minister, who heads the National Union party.

His comments came just days after a major flare-up on the border with Lebanon, which left one Israeli soldier dead and five injured.

Despite the clashes with Hezbollah, chief of staff Moshe Yaalon said Sunday he doubted the Lebanese militia was looking to escalate the situation.

"I get the feeling that Hezbollah knows it is not in its interest to provoke such an escalation, but in any case we have the means to make it understand," Yaalon told public radio.

On Friday, the head of Israel's northern command, Benny Gantz, warned both Syria and Lebanon against any military escalation, saying it would be "catastrophic" for them.

"Hezbollah understands the price of an escalation," he said.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Sunday he was cancelling a planned trip to Washington as the cabinet discussed his controversial Gaza withdrawal plan which was voted down by his own Likud party.

Shortly after the start of the session, Sharon told cabinet members he was calling off his trip to Washington planned for mid-May, public radio reported.

He had been expected to be in the United States on May 14-15 to speak at an annual meeting of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPIC) lobby group, which is traditionally attended by the US president.

But doubts over the trip emerged after his right-wing Likud party trounced his "disengagement" plan which had been warmly endorsed by President George W. Bush.

Implications of the Likud 'no' vote in a May referendum of the party's members topped the agenda Sunday at the weekly cabinet meeting, in what was its first session since the vote.