Israel Allegedly Strikes Pro-Assad Base after Syrian Mortars Hit Golan Heights

April 24, 2017

by: Ilse Posselt

Monday, 24 April 2017 | Tensions between Jerusalem and Damascus continued to escalate over the weekend with a number of incidents taking place on Israel’s northern border with Syria.

Early Friday evening, Code Red air raid sirens sounded in the northern parts of the Jewish state, warning communities to seek shelter against incoming projectiles from Syria. Seconds later, three mortars struck the Golan Heights, hitting open territory and causing no injury or damage.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) retaliated, striking a position near the city of Quneitra, which the army said was the source of the mortar fire.

According to the IDF, the projectiles are likely the result of spillover fire from raging battles in war-torn Syria. Errant fire from fighting in Syria has been a recurring problem over the past six years and the IDF has acted consistently against such spillover.

Commenting on Friday’s incident, the army’s Spokesperson Unit said, “[The IDF] will not tolerate any attempt to harm the State of Israel’s sovereignty and the security of its residents and holds the Syrian regime responsible for anything that occurs on its territory.”

Two days later on Sunday, the National Defense Forces (NDF), a pro-Assad militia, accused Israel of striking a Syrian camp for government forces. The alleged strike took place early on Sunday morning at the Naba Fawar base near Quneitra. The NDF statement added that three fighters were killed and a further two wounded.

According to The Times of Israel, an IDF spokesperson said that the army was not “familiar with the incident.” For its part, Al-Jazeera reported that Israel denied involvement in a strike on Syrian positions.

The situation on Israel’s northern border with Syria has been on edge since the start of the civil war in 2011. Yet the past weeks have seen an increase in tensions.

Late last month Israel’s Arrow-3 system successfully intercepted an anti-aircraft missile which Syria fired at Israeli jets. The IDF explained at the time that the Syrian attack came as IDF jets returned to base following a strike near Palmyra which targeted a convoy carrying state-of-the-art weapons from Syria to Hezbollah. This marked the first time the Arrow-3 long-range anti-missile system was used operationally. It was also the second time in six months that the Syrian military used its air defense system against the Jewish state.

Since the start of the bloody civil war in Syria some six years ago, Jerusalem has chosen to remain on the sidelines of the conflict. However, a number of senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, have disclosed that the Jewish state will not refrain from acting to ensure that chaos of civil war is not used as a cover to smuggle advanced weapons from Syria to Hezbollah for use against Israeli targets. An Iranian proxy, Hezbollah is perched right on the Jewish state’s northern border.

Lieberman confirmed Israel’s stance following the Arrow-3 interception, saying, “We have no interest in interfering in the Syrian civil war, not for nor against (President Bashar) Assad. Our main problem is with the transfer of advanced weapons from Syria to Lebanon. That is why every time we identify an attempt to smuggle game-changing weapons, we will act to thwart it. There will be no compromise on this issue. If the IDF does choose to act, there is a real reason for it.

Posted on April 24, 2017

Source: (Bridges for Peace, 24 April, 2017)