What was reported last week as an accidental violation of Syrian airspace was apparently an Israeli attack on enemies deep inside northern Syria that may have involved Israeli ground troops. Syria fired unsuccessfully on the Israeli warplanes. Now Syria is complaining to the United Nations. From Forbes.com:
Syria complained to the United Nations about “aggression and violation of sovereignty” after Israeli warplanes reportedly conducted an airstrike in the country’s north, the country’s ambassador to the U.N. said Tuesday.
Syria reported the incursion on Thursday, saying Israeli aicraft flew over the northern part of the country and dropped munitions over an empty area after being fired on by Syrian antiaircraft defenses.
A U.S. military official said the Israeli incursion last week was an airstrike “deep into Syria” that hit a target. The offical, who spoke on condition of anonymity because it was an intelligence issue, said he did not know the target.
According to the Syrian government as quoted in the Associated Press, all Syria wants is peace while Israel wants an all-out war.
Syria’s U.N. ambassador, Bashar al-Jaafari, said his government made its complaint in two letters to the U.N. secretary general and the president of the Security Council. The letters said the Israeli action was in violation of the 1974 disengagement agreement that was reached after the 1973 Mideast war.
The letters warned that “continuing to disregard denunciation of this act could result in consequences that no one knows its limits,” according to al-Jaafari. He said Syria awaits a stand from U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon “that would hold Israel responsible and demands that it ceases” such acts.
Al-Jaafari said he had no further details on the incursion, but denied news reports Israeli troops were inside Syria. “This is absolutely not true,” saying the reports were an attempt to show that Israel could land troops wherever it wants.
“Israel is seeking military escalation. We are exerting efforts so that we don’t fall into this trap. We are dealing with the matter with utmost keenness, precision and responsibility,” he added.
CNN’s Christiane Amanpour confirmed yesterday that Israel did indeed attack a shipment of arms crossing Syria into Hezbollah-occupied southern Lebanon. She said that according to unnamed US government and military officials, the attack “left a big hole in the desert.”
Israel carried out a rare air strike inside Syria last week targeting a shipment of arms, CNN reported Tuesday quoting US government and military sources.
Israeli officials have so far maintained a veil of silence over Syrian reports that Israeli warplanes violated its airspace on Thursday ratcheting up the tension between the neighboring foes still officially at war.
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She added it was believed the strike targeted “weapons that were either coming into Syria or that were being trans-shipped from Iran through Syria to Hezbollah.”
Make no mistake about it: This is a big deal. When the incident happened, the Israeli government was uncharacteristically quiet. The pieces are coming together now and apparently Israel did conduct a succesful strike in northern Syria to prevent arms from reaching Hezbollah. Considering Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s policy of passivity and appeasement, the attack represents a 180-degree turn-around from previous policies.
Israelis are fearful of war with Syria, with much justification. Israeli troops are now on high alert along the Israeli-Syrian border. According to a number of reports such as this one from WorldNet Daily earlier in the summer, Syria has been massing troops and improving fortifications along the border with Israel. Syria has improved its Scud missle capabilities and they are now capable of hitting targets deep inside of Israel, including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Syria has also received advanced anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles from Russia, though the recent attack may have proved that Syria’s anti-aircraft capabilities are not what they are touted to be.
A friend and I were debating several months about when, not if, Israel would face war this summer on a number of different fronts, including Syria, Hezbollah-occupied Lebanon, the West Bank, Gaza, and possibly even Iran. My prediction was that Israel’s enemies would attack early in the summer, possibly on Tisha B’Av, which began the evening of July 23rd. Her prediction was that war would come later, possibly to coincide with one of the Jewish High Holy Days.
It now appears that war is coming and that Syria is covering itself through its complaint to the United Nations. The only question now is when the war happens and whether the war will ignite a regional conflict.
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