Israel’s capital is not far from the heart of Syria. Israeli signpost showing distance between Israel, Syria in Golan Heights. Illustrative. By Joshua Spurlock
For the second time in less than a week, an attack from Syria was launched against Israel—this time in the form of two rockets on Saturday. In response, Israel struck at the Syrian military, hitting two artillery batteries, observation and intelligence posts and an air defense battery, according to the IDF’s English Twitter page. Said the IDF tweet, “We hold the Syrian regime accountable and will firmly operate against any attempt to harm Israeli civilians.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made it clear the order to “take strong action” came from him following security discussions, according to comments released by his office on Sunday.
“We will not tolerate firing at our territory and we will respond with great force to any aggression against us,” said Netanyahu. “This has been the consistent policy that I have led, together with the government, and this is what we will continue to do for the security of Israel.”
The Israeli premier noted that while both rockets were fired at the direction of Israel from Syrian territory, only one hit Israeli territory, in the Golan Heights.
The incident comes just days after a Syrian anti-aircraft system attacked an IDF aircraft on a “routine flight in Israel,” according to the IDF Twitter feed. Israel struck the launcher that fired the projectile, which ultimately landed in Syrian territory.
Errant fire from Syria has repeatedly landed in Israel in the past. Of note is that neither Netanyahu nor the IDF’s official Twitter feed termed the latest attacks accidental. It was also unclear who had launched the latest two rockets at Israel.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on their Arabic page, as translated by Google, that at least 10 were killed by Israel’s latest strikes over the weekend, including seven considered to probably be foreigners and not Syrians. The report noted the Israelis hit positions held by not only the Syrian regime, but also Iranians, Hezbollah and militia loyal to the Syrian regime.
(By Joshua Spurlock, www.themideastupdate.com, June 2, 2019)