12 apr 2014
|
A leader of the foreign-backed Syrian opposition calls for forging a coalition with Israel against the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
Kamal al-Labwani, of the so-called Syrian National Coalition (SNC), said that a coalition with Tel Aviv is the only way to oust the Syrian government. Labwani noted that the overthrow of Assad is among Israel’s main interests in Syria. He also said strengthening of opposition groups in Syria could defuse the power of al-Qaeda-linked militant groups in the war-torn country. The opposition leader spent 10 years in jail in Syria before being released |
two years ago at Assad’s order. According to al-Alam, Labwani had earlier offered handing the Golan Heights to Tel Aviv in return for receiving military aid from the Israeli regime and using Israel’s assistance to enforce a no-fly zone over southern Syria.
"Why shouldn’t we be able to sell the Golan Heights because it is better than losing Syria and Golan at once," he told al-Arab newspaper in March.
In January, representatives of the Syrian government and the Western-backed opposition convened in Geneva to hold their first round of direct talks since the start of the crisis in Syria more than three years ago.
After several rounds of talks that continued up to mid-February, the two sides failed to reach any substantial outcome due to sharp differences, namely the SNC's persistence on the formation of a transitional government and the resignation of President Assad before the deadly militancy in the country was addressed.
Over 150,000 people have reportedly been killed and millions displaced due to foreign-backed militancy that has gripped Syria since 2011.
According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies -- especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey -- are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.
"Why shouldn’t we be able to sell the Golan Heights because it is better than losing Syria and Golan at once," he told al-Arab newspaper in March.
In January, representatives of the Syrian government and the Western-backed opposition convened in Geneva to hold their first round of direct talks since the start of the crisis in Syria more than three years ago.
After several rounds of talks that continued up to mid-February, the two sides failed to reach any substantial outcome due to sharp differences, namely the SNC's persistence on the formation of a transitional government and the resignation of President Assad before the deadly militancy in the country was addressed.
Over 150,000 people have reportedly been killed and millions displaced due to foreign-backed militancy that has gripped Syria since 2011.
According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies -- especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey -- are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.
8 apr 2014
Dutch priest Frans van der Lugt, who gained renown for his insistence on staying in Syria's besieged city of Homs, has been shot dead by a masked gunman.
The motive for his murder was unclear, although Syria's main opposition bloc and President Bashar Assad's regime traded blame for the killing.
Van der Lugt, 75, had become a well-known figure in the Old City of Homs, respected by many for his solidarity with residents of the rebel-held area under a government siege for nearly two years.
He refused to leave despite constant shelling and dwindling supplies, insisting Syria was his home and he wanted to be with the country's citizens in their time of need.
"I can confirm that he's been killed," Jan Stuyt, secretary of the Dutch Jesuit Order, told AFP by phone.
"A man came into his house, took him outside and shot him twice in the head. In the street in front of his house," he said, adding that the priest would be buried in Syria "according to his wishes."
'Guard wounded'
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the shooting death Monday of a well-known Dutch priest in Syria as an "inhumane act of violence."
Ban's spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the UN chief "demands that warring parties and their supporters ensure that civilians are protected, regardless of their religion, community or ethnic affiliation."
The opposition National Council said a "masked gunman" wounded Van der Lugt's guard from the rebel Free Syrian Army when he stormed the priest's Jesuit monastery and killed him.
Van der Lugt spent nearly five decades in Syria, and told AFP in February that he considered the country to be his home.
"The Syrian people have given me so much, so much kindness, inspiration, and everything they have. If the Syrian people are suffering now, I want to share their pain and their difficulties," he said.
He stayed on even as some 1,400 people were evacuated during a UN-supervised operation that began on Feb. 7 and also saw limited supplies of food brought into the city.
Government forces have besieged Homs's Old City for nearly two years, leaving those unable to leave in increasingly dire circumstances.
"The faces of people you see in the street are weak and yellow. Their bodies are weakened and have lost their strength," Van der Lugt said before the UN operation.
"What should we do, die of hunger?"
The siege and shelling whittled away the Old City's population, including a Christian community that shrunk from tens of thousands to just 66, according to the Dutch priest.
Father Frans arrived in Syria in 1966 after spending two years in Lebanon studying Arabic.
He lived in a Jesuit monastery, where he ministered remaining Christians and tried to help poor families -- Muslims and Christians alike.
"I don't see people as Muslims or Christian, I see a human being first and foremost," he told AFP two months ago.
'Man of peace'
The Vatican praised Van der Lugt as a "man of peace," and expressed "great pain" over his death.
"This is the death of a man of peace, who showed great courage in remaining loyal to the Syrian people despite an extremely risky and difficult situation," spokesman Federico Lombardi said.
"In this moment of great pain, we also express our great pride and gratitude at having had a brother who was so close to the suffering."
Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister Frans Timmermans mourned the priest on his Facebook page.
"The man that's brought nothing but good in Homs, who became a Syrian among Syrians and refused to leave his people in the lurch, even when things became life-threatening, has been murdered in a cowardly manner," he said.
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the United States was "saddened" by the news of Van der Lugt's death and commended him for having "worked to mitigate the immense suffering in the city."
The office of Ahmad Jarba, president of the opposition National Council, condemned the murder "in the strongest terms."
It said the Assad regime was "ultimately responsible for this crime, as the only beneficiary of Father Frans's death."
Assad himself was quoted on Monday as saying the "project of political Islam has failed" in Syria, where more than 150,000 people have been killed in a three-year conflict with rebels that have come to be dominated by Islamists, ranging from moderates to radicals.
State news agency SANA said the priest's assassination was the work of "armed terrorist groups," the regime's term for rebels.
The motive for his murder was unclear, although Syria's main opposition bloc and President Bashar Assad's regime traded blame for the killing.
Van der Lugt, 75, had become a well-known figure in the Old City of Homs, respected by many for his solidarity with residents of the rebel-held area under a government siege for nearly two years.
He refused to leave despite constant shelling and dwindling supplies, insisting Syria was his home and he wanted to be with the country's citizens in their time of need.
"I can confirm that he's been killed," Jan Stuyt, secretary of the Dutch Jesuit Order, told AFP by phone.
"A man came into his house, took him outside and shot him twice in the head. In the street in front of his house," he said, adding that the priest would be buried in Syria "according to his wishes."
'Guard wounded'
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the shooting death Monday of a well-known Dutch priest in Syria as an "inhumane act of violence."
Ban's spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the UN chief "demands that warring parties and their supporters ensure that civilians are protected, regardless of their religion, community or ethnic affiliation."
The opposition National Council said a "masked gunman" wounded Van der Lugt's guard from the rebel Free Syrian Army when he stormed the priest's Jesuit monastery and killed him.
Van der Lugt spent nearly five decades in Syria, and told AFP in February that he considered the country to be his home.
"The Syrian people have given me so much, so much kindness, inspiration, and everything they have. If the Syrian people are suffering now, I want to share their pain and their difficulties," he said.
He stayed on even as some 1,400 people were evacuated during a UN-supervised operation that began on Feb. 7 and also saw limited supplies of food brought into the city.
Government forces have besieged Homs's Old City for nearly two years, leaving those unable to leave in increasingly dire circumstances.
"The faces of people you see in the street are weak and yellow. Their bodies are weakened and have lost their strength," Van der Lugt said before the UN operation.
"What should we do, die of hunger?"
The siege and shelling whittled away the Old City's population, including a Christian community that shrunk from tens of thousands to just 66, according to the Dutch priest.
Father Frans arrived in Syria in 1966 after spending two years in Lebanon studying Arabic.
He lived in a Jesuit monastery, where he ministered remaining Christians and tried to help poor families -- Muslims and Christians alike.
"I don't see people as Muslims or Christian, I see a human being first and foremost," he told AFP two months ago.
'Man of peace'
The Vatican praised Van der Lugt as a "man of peace," and expressed "great pain" over his death.
"This is the death of a man of peace, who showed great courage in remaining loyal to the Syrian people despite an extremely risky and difficult situation," spokesman Federico Lombardi said.
"In this moment of great pain, we also express our great pride and gratitude at having had a brother who was so close to the suffering."
Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister Frans Timmermans mourned the priest on his Facebook page.
"The man that's brought nothing but good in Homs, who became a Syrian among Syrians and refused to leave his people in the lurch, even when things became life-threatening, has been murdered in a cowardly manner," he said.
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the United States was "saddened" by the news of Van der Lugt's death and commended him for having "worked to mitigate the immense suffering in the city."
The office of Ahmad Jarba, president of the opposition National Council, condemned the murder "in the strongest terms."
It said the Assad regime was "ultimately responsible for this crime, as the only beneficiary of Father Frans's death."
Assad himself was quoted on Monday as saying the "project of political Islam has failed" in Syria, where more than 150,000 people have been killed in a three-year conflict with rebels that have come to be dominated by Islamists, ranging from moderates to radicals.
State news agency SANA said the priest's assassination was the work of "armed terrorist groups," the regime's term for rebels.
29 mar 2014
The Israeli army shot and killed two suspects near the separation barrier in the Golan Heights late Friday, Israeli media reported.
According to the Israeli news site Ynet, two suspects -- one identified as armed -- crossed into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from the Syrian side at around 10:30 p.m.
Without conducting an arrest procedure, Israeli troops shot them dead, the report said.
The Israeli army said the suspects were attempting to sabotage the separation barrier.
On March 18, a roadside bomb wounded four Israeli soldiers in the Golan Heights. The Israeli air force responded by carrying out airstrikes against Syrian army positions.
Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed it in 1981, in a move never recognized by the international community.
Israeli troops kill two Syrian men in Golan heights
Israeli soldiers killed at dawn Saturday two Syrian men, allegedly armed, near the perimeter fence to the east of the occupied Golan heights. The Hebrew radio claimed that the two men were armed and tried to tamper with the border fence near the area of Alonei Habashan settlement.
A senior Israeli army officer, however, said that the gunmen came from inside the Syrian territories to the fence in order to plant an explosive device, adding that such a situation prompted the soldiers to immediately open fire at them.
He added that the Israeli army decided to open fire at anyone trying to get close to the border fence instead of firing warning shots as it used to happen before.
According to the Israeli news site Ynet, two suspects -- one identified as armed -- crossed into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from the Syrian side at around 10:30 p.m.
Without conducting an arrest procedure, Israeli troops shot them dead, the report said.
The Israeli army said the suspects were attempting to sabotage the separation barrier.
On March 18, a roadside bomb wounded four Israeli soldiers in the Golan Heights. The Israeli air force responded by carrying out airstrikes against Syrian army positions.
Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed it in 1981, in a move never recognized by the international community.
Israeli troops kill two Syrian men in Golan heights
Israeli soldiers killed at dawn Saturday two Syrian men, allegedly armed, near the perimeter fence to the east of the occupied Golan heights. The Hebrew radio claimed that the two men were armed and tried to tamper with the border fence near the area of Alonei Habashan settlement.
A senior Israeli army officer, however, said that the gunmen came from inside the Syrian territories to the fence in order to plant an explosive device, adding that such a situation prompted the soldiers to immediately open fire at them.
He added that the Israeli army decided to open fire at anyone trying to get close to the border fence instead of firing warning shots as it used to happen before.
25 mar 2014
Action Group for Palestinians of Syria said that it has documented the death of 2133 refugees in Syria since the events in that Arab country started until 22nd March 2014.
The group said in a statement that 888 refugees were killed due to shelling on places of residence, adding that detailed account of those killed would be published in early April.
It said, meanwhile, that three Palestinians were killed last Thursday due to continued shelling on refugee camps.
It said that Omar Hamawi was killed at the hands of a sniper in Aleppo while Ahmed Al-Mallah, from Yarmouk refugee camp, was killed under torture in the Syrian regime’s prisons.
The group pointed out that Kamal Mustafa, a resident of Khan Danun refugee camp, was killed in clashes between Syrian regular and free armies in Qunaitera town.
It said that frustration prevailed among Palestinian refugees in Yarmouk camp on Saturday after distribution of food aid was deferred.
Source: Palestinian Information Center
The group said in a statement that 888 refugees were killed due to shelling on places of residence, adding that detailed account of those killed would be published in early April.
It said, meanwhile, that three Palestinians were killed last Thursday due to continued shelling on refugee camps.
It said that Omar Hamawi was killed at the hands of a sniper in Aleppo while Ahmed Al-Mallah, from Yarmouk refugee camp, was killed under torture in the Syrian regime’s prisons.
The group pointed out that Kamal Mustafa, a resident of Khan Danun refugee camp, was killed in clashes between Syrian regular and free armies in Qunaitera town.
It said that frustration prevailed among Palestinian refugees in Yarmouk camp on Saturday after distribution of food aid was deferred.
Source: Palestinian Information Center
21 mar 2014
Israel's air strikes on Syria after a bomb targeted Israeli troops on the occupied Golan Heights was unlikely to spiral into full-scale confrontation, with each side preoccupied elsewhere, commentators said Thursday.
Israeli warplanes attacked Syrian army positions early on Wednesday and the Jewish state issued a stark warning to Damascus just hours after a bomb wounded four Israeli soldiers on the Golan, one severely.
Over the past year, Israel has reportedly carried out a series of raids on Syrian and Hezbollah targets but has not officially acknowledged them.
In a rare departure, the Israel military issued a public statement acknowledging Wednesday's strikes on Syrian army facilities.
Damascus. meanwhile, said one soldier had been killed and seven more wounded in an act of "aggression" that endangered regional stability.
But most commentators agreed that neither Israel nor the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad were seeking a faceoff as each was dealing with threats on other fronts.
Assad has been tied up fighting a three-year civil war against rebels seeking his ouster, while Israel is occupied with the threats of rockets from Gaza in the south, powerful Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah on its northern flank and the perceived threat posed by Iran's nuclear program.
"Assad has no desire to get into a direct confrontation with Israel, which could bring about his end," Syria expert Eyal Zisser told the Jerusalem Post.
Although the targets in Wednesday's raids were Syrian army, it appeared that the bomb was planted by militants from Damascus ally Hezbollah, pundits said.
Syria has long provided arms and other aid to Hezbollah, and served as a conduit for Iranian military aid to the movement, which battled Israel to a bloody stalemate in a 2006 war.
'Hezbollah not seeking escalation'
Israeli public radio quoted Paolo Serra, commander of UN peacekeeping troops in Lebanon, as saying Hezbollah too was unlikely to want a full-scale confrontation.
"Hezbollah and Israel are not interested in escalation after the Golan Heights incident," it quoted him as saying.
Last week, Israel shelled Hezbollah positions after another explosion targeted Israeli troops patrolling the Lebanese border.
And on March 5, troops on the Golan fired on what they said were two Hezbollah members allegedly trying to place an explosive device near the ceasefire line.
Analysts linked the escalation in border tensions to a February 24 air strike on a Hezbollah position in Lebanon, close to the Syrian border, which a security source said had targeted "weapons sent from Syria to Hezbollah".
Hezbollah openly blamed Israel and vowed to respond.
"Hezbollah is the first name that comes to mind when trying to figure out who masterminded (Tuesday's) roadside attack," a Jerusalem Post editorial said, while admitting that nothing was certain in war-torn Syria.
"The country has deteriorated into a free-for-all fire zone the likes of which even this erratic region has never known. It has become an arena for every terrorist group."
Writing in Yediot Aharonot, Middle East expert Guy Bechor said that responsibility for the Golan attack was far from clear, and may not rest with either Hezbollah or the Damascus regime.
"Assad controls approximately a fifth of his country and most of our border is no longer under his control but under that of the various rebels, mostly Sunni jihadists," he wrote.
"Hezbollah, like the Syrian regime, is up to its ears in fighting deep inside Syria. The Israeli border isn't an area that is controlled by Hezbollah, but by Salafist rebels," he said.
Israel, which is technically at war with Syria, seized 1,200 square kilometers (460 square miles) of the Golan Heights plateau during the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed it in a move never recognized by the international community.
The two countries went to war again in 1973.
Since the Syrian civil conflict erupted in 2011, the plateau has been tense, with a growing number of stray projectiles hitting the Israeli side, prompting an occasional armed response.
Israeli warplanes attacked Syrian army positions early on Wednesday and the Jewish state issued a stark warning to Damascus just hours after a bomb wounded four Israeli soldiers on the Golan, one severely.
Over the past year, Israel has reportedly carried out a series of raids on Syrian and Hezbollah targets but has not officially acknowledged them.
In a rare departure, the Israel military issued a public statement acknowledging Wednesday's strikes on Syrian army facilities.
Damascus. meanwhile, said one soldier had been killed and seven more wounded in an act of "aggression" that endangered regional stability.
But most commentators agreed that neither Israel nor the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad were seeking a faceoff as each was dealing with threats on other fronts.
Assad has been tied up fighting a three-year civil war against rebels seeking his ouster, while Israel is occupied with the threats of rockets from Gaza in the south, powerful Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah on its northern flank and the perceived threat posed by Iran's nuclear program.
"Assad has no desire to get into a direct confrontation with Israel, which could bring about his end," Syria expert Eyal Zisser told the Jerusalem Post.
Although the targets in Wednesday's raids were Syrian army, it appeared that the bomb was planted by militants from Damascus ally Hezbollah, pundits said.
Syria has long provided arms and other aid to Hezbollah, and served as a conduit for Iranian military aid to the movement, which battled Israel to a bloody stalemate in a 2006 war.
'Hezbollah not seeking escalation'
Israeli public radio quoted Paolo Serra, commander of UN peacekeeping troops in Lebanon, as saying Hezbollah too was unlikely to want a full-scale confrontation.
"Hezbollah and Israel are not interested in escalation after the Golan Heights incident," it quoted him as saying.
Last week, Israel shelled Hezbollah positions after another explosion targeted Israeli troops patrolling the Lebanese border.
And on March 5, troops on the Golan fired on what they said were two Hezbollah members allegedly trying to place an explosive device near the ceasefire line.
Analysts linked the escalation in border tensions to a February 24 air strike on a Hezbollah position in Lebanon, close to the Syrian border, which a security source said had targeted "weapons sent from Syria to Hezbollah".
Hezbollah openly blamed Israel and vowed to respond.
"Hezbollah is the first name that comes to mind when trying to figure out who masterminded (Tuesday's) roadside attack," a Jerusalem Post editorial said, while admitting that nothing was certain in war-torn Syria.
"The country has deteriorated into a free-for-all fire zone the likes of which even this erratic region has never known. It has become an arena for every terrorist group."
Writing in Yediot Aharonot, Middle East expert Guy Bechor said that responsibility for the Golan attack was far from clear, and may not rest with either Hezbollah or the Damascus regime.
"Assad controls approximately a fifth of his country and most of our border is no longer under his control but under that of the various rebels, mostly Sunni jihadists," he wrote.
"Hezbollah, like the Syrian regime, is up to its ears in fighting deep inside Syria. The Israeli border isn't an area that is controlled by Hezbollah, but by Salafist rebels," he said.
Israel, which is technically at war with Syria, seized 1,200 square kilometers (460 square miles) of the Golan Heights plateau during the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed it in a move never recognized by the international community.
The two countries went to war again in 1973.
Since the Syrian civil conflict erupted in 2011, the plateau has been tense, with a growing number of stray projectiles hitting the Israeli side, prompting an occasional armed response.
19 mar 2014
Israeli sources have reported that the Israeli Air Force fired, on Wednesday at dawn, several missiles into a number of Syrian army sites, in what Israel claimed to be a retaliation to a Golan Heights bombing that left four Israeli soldiers wounded.
The army said that the attack against its soldiers, that took place on Tuesday, is part of what it called an escalation to the conflict between Israeli and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah party that sides with Syrian President, Bashar Assad.
Israeli Army Arab Media Spokesperson, Avichai Adraee, said the army attacked several targets used by the Syrian Army, and Syrian Intelligence headquarters, in addition to training grounds and missile batteries.
He claimed Syria aided Hezbollah fighters in carrying out their attack against the soldiers in the Golan Heights.
“The Israeli army reserves the right to retaliate at the time and place it sees fit”, Adraee said.
Israeli Ynet News said the attack against the Israeli army near the Syrian border is a serious escalation in the already tense relations between Israel and Hezbollah.
It added that Israel recently established a new combat battalion in the Golan Heights, and that the unit is equipped with advanced observation systems and radars that “managed to prove their effectiveness in recent weeks”.
Syria: Israel strikes kill 1, 'threaten region's security'
Israeli air raids on Syria on Wednesday killed one person and injured seven, Syria's army said, warning that the strikes endangered regional security and stability.
In a statement, the army command warned that "these desperate attempts ... endanger the security and stability of the region."
The army said that the attack against its soldiers, that took place on Tuesday, is part of what it called an escalation to the conflict between Israeli and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah party that sides with Syrian President, Bashar Assad.
Israeli Army Arab Media Spokesperson, Avichai Adraee, said the army attacked several targets used by the Syrian Army, and Syrian Intelligence headquarters, in addition to training grounds and missile batteries.
He claimed Syria aided Hezbollah fighters in carrying out their attack against the soldiers in the Golan Heights.
“The Israeli army reserves the right to retaliate at the time and place it sees fit”, Adraee said.
Israeli Ynet News said the attack against the Israeli army near the Syrian border is a serious escalation in the already tense relations between Israel and Hezbollah.
It added that Israel recently established a new combat battalion in the Golan Heights, and that the unit is equipped with advanced observation systems and radars that “managed to prove their effectiveness in recent weeks”.
Syria: Israel strikes kill 1, 'threaten region's security'
Israeli air raids on Syria on Wednesday killed one person and injured seven, Syria's army said, warning that the strikes endangered regional security and stability.
In a statement, the army command warned that "these desperate attempts ... endanger the security and stability of the region."
18 mar 2014
An Israeli army officer speaks to a soldier who was wounded during an explosion as he is evacuated to hospital, in the northern city of Haifa March 18, 2014
A roadside bomb wounded four Israeli soldiers patrolling the occupied Golan Heights on Tuesday, and Israel retaliated with artillery fire on Syrian army positions, the army said. It was not clear who had planted the bomb in an area where the Syrian military, Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas and Syrian rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad all have a presence.
Israel captured the Golan from Syria in the 1967 war and annexed the strategic plateau in a move the world has not recognised.
Violence in Syria has spilled over the Golan frontline in the past but Tuesday's casualties were the worst Israel has suffered in there since the Syrian uprising began three years ago, army spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Lerner said.
Noticing suspicious movement near the Golan separation fence, the soldiers left their patrol vehicle to inspect it on foot and were hit by an explosion, Lerner said. One was seriously hurt and the others had moderate to light injuries.
Israeli artillery shelled Syrian army positions on the far side of the fence in retaliation, Lerner said.
"We see the Syrian army as responsible, and that is indicated by our response to the attack," he said.
His language suggested Israel was blaming Damascus because it had formal authority over the Syrian-held side of the Golan.
Lerner declined to be drawn on whether Israel knew who specifically had planted the bomb. Two weeks ago, Israel said it foiled a similar attack when its forces shot two Hezbollah men near the Golan fence. Hezbollah has fighters in Syria helping Assad combat a rebellion led by Sunni Islamist insurgents.
In Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said the Syrian-held side of the Golan was "filled" with al Qaeda-linked rebels and Hezbollah guerrillas who, while at each other's throats in Syria, shared deep enmity for the Jewish state.
"This presents a new challenge for the State of Israel," Netanyahu told his Likud faction.
Israel has accused Hezbollah of setting up positions on the other side of the boundary fence. On Friday, an explosive device was detonated against Israeli soldiers patrolling the nearby border with Lebanon, causing no injuries, the army said.
Hezbollah accused Israel of carrying out an air strike on one of its bases on the Lebanon-Syria border last month and vowed to respond. Israel said it would hold the Beirut government responsible if Hezbollah attacked it from Lebanese territory.
A roadside bomb wounded four Israeli soldiers patrolling the occupied Golan Heights on Tuesday, and Israel retaliated with artillery fire on Syrian army positions, the army said. It was not clear who had planted the bomb in an area where the Syrian military, Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas and Syrian rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad all have a presence.
Israel captured the Golan from Syria in the 1967 war and annexed the strategic plateau in a move the world has not recognised.
Violence in Syria has spilled over the Golan frontline in the past but Tuesday's casualties were the worst Israel has suffered in there since the Syrian uprising began three years ago, army spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Lerner said.
Noticing suspicious movement near the Golan separation fence, the soldiers left their patrol vehicle to inspect it on foot and were hit by an explosion, Lerner said. One was seriously hurt and the others had moderate to light injuries.
Israeli artillery shelled Syrian army positions on the far side of the fence in retaliation, Lerner said.
"We see the Syrian army as responsible, and that is indicated by our response to the attack," he said.
His language suggested Israel was blaming Damascus because it had formal authority over the Syrian-held side of the Golan.
Lerner declined to be drawn on whether Israel knew who specifically had planted the bomb. Two weeks ago, Israel said it foiled a similar attack when its forces shot two Hezbollah men near the Golan fence. Hezbollah has fighters in Syria helping Assad combat a rebellion led by Sunni Islamist insurgents.
In Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said the Syrian-held side of the Golan was "filled" with al Qaeda-linked rebels and Hezbollah guerrillas who, while at each other's throats in Syria, shared deep enmity for the Jewish state.
"This presents a new challenge for the State of Israel," Netanyahu told his Likud faction.
Israel has accused Hezbollah of setting up positions on the other side of the boundary fence. On Friday, an explosive device was detonated against Israeli soldiers patrolling the nearby border with Lebanon, causing no injuries, the army said.
Hezbollah accused Israel of carrying out an air strike on one of its bases on the Lebanon-Syria border last month and vowed to respond. Israel said it would hold the Beirut government responsible if Hezbollah attacked it from Lebanese territory.
9 mar 2014
The Syrian regime’s warplanes continued on Saturday bombing the Palestinian refugee camps in Syria with explosive barrels. Working group for the Palestinians in Syria said in a statement that the warplanes bombed the vicinity of Daraa refugee camp, pointing out that the camp's inhabitants have been suffering from poor health and living conditions due to the difficulty of entry of food and medical supplies to the camp and the continuation of the siege and shelling.
The statement added that the Assad regime's military aircraft flew at a low altitude in the skies of Khan Eshieh camp, while sounds of explosions were heard when explosive barrels fell in an area near the camp
The group confirmed that the regime's army forces deployed in the vicinity of the refugee camps have been preventing Palestinian civilians from entering or leaving the camps, especially those carrying foodstuffs.
The statement added that the Assad regime's military aircraft flew at a low altitude in the skies of Khan Eshieh camp, while sounds of explosions were heard when explosive barrels fell in an area near the camp
The group confirmed that the regime's army forces deployed in the vicinity of the refugee camps have been preventing Palestinian civilians from entering or leaving the camps, especially those carrying foodstuffs.
26 feb 2014
موقع كندي: قائد “الحر” الجديد تدرب عسكريا في إسرائيل
Global Research – Canada – The new commander of the anti-Damascus militancy group, the Free Syrian Army (FSA), Abdul-Ilah al-Bashir has been trained in Israel, media reports said. Al-Bashir had gone to Israel for treatment last year after he was wounded in Southern Syria during clashes with the Syrian army, Al-Ahd news website reported.
Al-Bashir was in charge of the military council in Southern Syria and he was transferred to a hospital in Israel after he was wounded in a military operation in Al-Rushid region.
Al-Bashir replaced former FSA commander Salim Idris. The FSA declared Bashir as the replacement for Idris in a statement posted online.
While Al-Bashir was wounded, the news reports were spread that Al-Bashir had died and buried in Daraa province in a bid to distract attentions from his presence in Israel where he was receiving military training.
A military analyst told Al-Ahd that the appointment of Al-Bashir took place concurrent with the defeat of the militants in Al-Qalmoun region and after the second round of the Geneva II talks.
Idriss had long faced criticism by militants on the ground for failing to gather sufficient military aid for the armed groups.
موقع كندي: قائد “الحر” الجديد تدرب عسكريا في إسرائيل
كشف موقع “غلوبل ريسيرتش” الكندي للأبحاث معلومات تفيد بأن قائد “الجيش السوري الحر” عبد الإله البشير النعيمي تم إعداده وتدريبه عسكريًّا في الكيان الصهيوني
وقال الموقع: إن البشير تلقى علاجًا في “إسرائيل” العام الماضي عندما أصيب في مواجهات مع الجيش السوري، وكان حينها مسؤول القيادة العسكرية لقوات المعارضة جنوب سوريا
وأضاف أنه بعد إصابت “النعيمي“ وعلاجه في “إسرائيل” أعلن عن وفاته وعن دفنه في درعا من أجل التغطية على وجوده في “إسرائيل”، ولكن المجلس العسكري الأعلى للجيش الحر أعلن قبل أيام إقالة اللواء سليم إدريس من مهامه كرئيس لهيئة الأركان وتعيين البشير مكانه
Global Research – Canada – The new commander of the anti-Damascus militancy group, the Free Syrian Army (FSA), Abdul-Ilah al-Bashir has been trained in Israel, media reports said. Al-Bashir had gone to Israel for treatment last year after he was wounded in Southern Syria during clashes with the Syrian army, Al-Ahd news website reported.
Al-Bashir was in charge of the military council in Southern Syria and he was transferred to a hospital in Israel after he was wounded in a military operation in Al-Rushid region.
Al-Bashir replaced former FSA commander Salim Idris. The FSA declared Bashir as the replacement for Idris in a statement posted online.
While Al-Bashir was wounded, the news reports were spread that Al-Bashir had died and buried in Daraa province in a bid to distract attentions from his presence in Israel where he was receiving military training.
A military analyst told Al-Ahd that the appointment of Al-Bashir took place concurrent with the defeat of the militants in Al-Qalmoun region and after the second round of the Geneva II talks.
Idriss had long faced criticism by militants on the ground for failing to gather sufficient military aid for the armed groups.
موقع كندي: قائد “الحر” الجديد تدرب عسكريا في إسرائيل
كشف موقع “غلوبل ريسيرتش” الكندي للأبحاث معلومات تفيد بأن قائد “الجيش السوري الحر” عبد الإله البشير النعيمي تم إعداده وتدريبه عسكريًّا في الكيان الصهيوني
وقال الموقع: إن البشير تلقى علاجًا في “إسرائيل” العام الماضي عندما أصيب في مواجهات مع الجيش السوري، وكان حينها مسؤول القيادة العسكرية لقوات المعارضة جنوب سوريا
وأضاف أنه بعد إصابت “النعيمي“ وعلاجه في “إسرائيل” أعلن عن وفاته وعن دفنه في درعا من أجل التغطية على وجوده في “إسرائيل”، ولكن المجلس العسكري الأعلى للجيش الحر أعلن قبل أيام إقالة اللواء سليم إدريس من مهامه كرئيس لهيئة الأركان وتعيين البشير مكانه
25 feb 2014
Israeli warplanes have launched airstrikes on targets near the border between Lebanon and Syria, reports say.
There were contradictory reports on the targets of Monday’s attacks, with sources in Lebanon saying the airstrikes hit inside Syrian territory.
Israeli sources, however, claimed that the warplanes bombed a target in Lebanon.
Israel violates Lebanon's airspace on an almost daily basis, claiming the flights serve surveillance purposes.
The Lebanese government has filed several complaints to the United Nations over the violation of the country’s airspace by the Israeli military aircraft.
Israel has carried out strikes on Syria several times since the beginning of 2013. Damascus says the attacks were aimed at helping the foreign-backed militants fighting against the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
On January 30, the Syrian army said two people were killed and five others injured in an Israeli airstrike on a research center in Jamraya, near Damascus.
Syria has been gripped by deadly violence since 2011. Over 130,000 people have reportedly been killed and millions displaced due to the unrest.
According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies -- namely Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey -- are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.
There were contradictory reports on the targets of Monday’s attacks, with sources in Lebanon saying the airstrikes hit inside Syrian territory.
Israeli sources, however, claimed that the warplanes bombed a target in Lebanon.
Israel violates Lebanon's airspace on an almost daily basis, claiming the flights serve surveillance purposes.
The Lebanese government has filed several complaints to the United Nations over the violation of the country’s airspace by the Israeli military aircraft.
Israel has carried out strikes on Syria several times since the beginning of 2013. Damascus says the attacks were aimed at helping the foreign-backed militants fighting against the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
On January 30, the Syrian army said two people were killed and five others injured in an Israeli airstrike on a research center in Jamraya, near Damascus.
Syria has been gripped by deadly violence since 2011. Over 130,000 people have reportedly been killed and millions displaced due to the unrest.
According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies -- namely Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey -- are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.
18 feb 2014
Two rockets fired from war-torn Syria struck the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights Tuesday shortly after a secret visit to the area by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's army said.
"Two rockets fire from Syria struck the central Golan without causing injuries or damage," a spokeswoman told AFP.
The incident occurred shortly after Netanyahu toured the area with Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon and army chief Lieutenant General Benny Gantz, visiting a field hospital close to the ceasefire line where injured Syrians are being treated.
The premier used the visit to lash out at Iran, as it began a fresh round of talks with world powers in Vienna aimed at reaching a comprehensive accord to roll back Tehran's contested nuclear program.
"On the day when talks between the major powers and Iran are being opened in Vienna, it is important that the world sees the pictures from this place, which divides the good that is in the world from the bad," said Netanyahu in remarks communicated by his office.
The talks aim to follow up on a landmark interim deal struck in November and fiercely opposed by Israeli under which Iran is scaling back certain nuclear activities in exchange for minor relief from sanctions.
"Iran is arming those who are carrying out the slaughter," said Netanyahu.
"All of the children who have been injured, to say nothing of those who have been killed, were injured as a result of Iran's arming, financing and training" the regime of President Bashar Assad, he charged.
"I would like to tell the world, today, as the talks between the major powers and Iran are being resumed, that Iran has changed neither its aggressive policy nor its brutal character," he said.
"This is the true face of Iran. The world cannot forget this."
Israel, which is technically at war with Syria, seized 465 square miles of the strategic plateau during the 1967 Six Day War and later annexed it in a move never recognized by the international community.
Since the Syrian conflict erupted in 2011, the plateau has been tense, with a growing number of stray projectiles hitting the Israeli side, prompting an occasional armed response.
"Two rockets fire from Syria struck the central Golan without causing injuries or damage," a spokeswoman told AFP.
The incident occurred shortly after Netanyahu toured the area with Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon and army chief Lieutenant General Benny Gantz, visiting a field hospital close to the ceasefire line where injured Syrians are being treated.
The premier used the visit to lash out at Iran, as it began a fresh round of talks with world powers in Vienna aimed at reaching a comprehensive accord to roll back Tehran's contested nuclear program.
"On the day when talks between the major powers and Iran are being opened in Vienna, it is important that the world sees the pictures from this place, which divides the good that is in the world from the bad," said Netanyahu in remarks communicated by his office.
The talks aim to follow up on a landmark interim deal struck in November and fiercely opposed by Israeli under which Iran is scaling back certain nuclear activities in exchange for minor relief from sanctions.
"Iran is arming those who are carrying out the slaughter," said Netanyahu.
"All of the children who have been injured, to say nothing of those who have been killed, were injured as a result of Iran's arming, financing and training" the regime of President Bashar Assad, he charged.
"I would like to tell the world, today, as the talks between the major powers and Iran are being resumed, that Iran has changed neither its aggressive policy nor its brutal character," he said.
"This is the true face of Iran. The world cannot forget this."
Israel, which is technically at war with Syria, seized 465 square miles of the strategic plateau during the 1967 Six Day War and later annexed it in a move never recognized by the international community.
Since the Syrian conflict erupted in 2011, the plateau has been tense, with a growing number of stray projectiles hitting the Israeli side, prompting an occasional armed response.