44 F
New York
Friday, March 29, 2024

Hostilities Escalate On Israel’s Northern And Southern Flanks

Related Articles

-Advertisement-

Must read

Israeli tanks stand in position overlooking a Syrian village from the Golan Heights as tensions between Israel and Syria escalated. Photo Credit: ReutersIDF Fires Tank Shells into Syria,  Rockets Rain on Jewish State From Gaza Strip

On Sunday, November 11th, Israel was drawn into the fighting in neighboring Syria for the first time, firing warning shots across the border after an errant Syrian mortar shell landed near an Israeli military installation in the Golan Heights. The Israel Defense Forces fired an advanced Tapuz-type missile at a Syrian artillery cannon aimed toward a Syrian military target, deliberately missing the cannon. The incident marked the fourth time in just over a week that spillover from the 19-month long Syrian internecine warfare had encroached on Israeli held territory.

Only 24 hours later, yet another Syrian mortar shell landed near an IDF outpost at Hezakia on the Golan Heights. On this occasion, Israel responded to the escalation of attacks by firing at and striking two Syrian mortar launchers from a tank belonging to the 401 Armored Brigade. Unlike Sunday’s exchange, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) fired with the intention of hitting its target, as part of a new policy designed to deter Syrian forces from firing into Israel.

The IDF does not believe that Monday’s shell was deliberate, but intensified its response nonetheless in order to send the message to Damascus that the errant shells must stop. According to published reports, the Syrian army is in the area to pursue rebels who have taken refuge in the village of Be’er Ajam, a few kilometers from Israel. There were conflicting reports on whether Syrian soldiers were injured in the aftermath. IDF sources said there were no known injuries, though the Channel 2 television station in Israel reported that a number of soldiers in Syria were hurt, and broadcast a video of a Syrian ambulance sent to evacuate the soldiers.

Subsequent to Monday’s attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared, “We will not allow anyone to breach our borders or to fire on our citizens.”

Just a week ago, Lieutenant General Benny Gantz, Israel’s military chief of staff, toured the Golan Heights after three Syrian tanks entered the demilitarized zone set up in a 1974 disengagement treaty between the sides. Israel promptly filed complaints with the United Nations observer force that monitors the armistice agreement, and the United Nations has warned that the spreading violence could jeopardize the cease-fire between the two countries.

Israeli defense officials have made it clear that Israel has no desire to get involved in the fighting in Syria, after years of relative quiet along the country’s borders, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting on Sunday morning that he is “closely monitoring” the border with Syria and is “ready for any development.”

“We hope they get the message this time,” Moshe Yaalon, Israel’s minister of strategic affairs, told Israeli television, referring to the missile fired at a Syrian mortar battery. “We understand this was a mistake and was not meant to target Israel, and that is why we fired a warning shot in retaliation,” said Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich, a military spokeswoman. While Israel views the fire from Syria as unintentional, though still unacceptable, what is of most concern is the recent barrage of rocket attacks from Gaza that are deliberately aimed at Israeli population centers. Hamas, the Islamic militant group that controls the Palestinian coastal enclave, has claimed credit for participating in several rounds of rocket fire.

While Israel appeared eager to calm the situation with Syria, its response was a potent reminder of how easily the Syrian civil war – already spilling across borders with Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan – could explode into a wider regional conflagration. Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Israeli defense forces have been instructed “to prevent the battles from spilling over into our territory. Additional shelling into Israel from Syria will elicit a tougher response; exacting a higher price from Syria.”

The entry of Israel into the fighting would take the violence to a new level. Although Israel has a more powerful military, both countries have air forces and significant arsenals of tanks, missiles and other weapons. Israel is especially concerned about Syria’s stockpile of chemical weapons. An Israeli war on Syria could also draw in Syria’s ally, Hezbollah, further destabilizing the region. Hezbollah, which possesses tens of thousands of rockets and missiles, battled Israel to a stalemate during a month long war in 2006.

Yiftah Shapir, an analyst at the Institute for National Security Studies, a Tel Aviv think tank, said neither Israel nor Syria has an interest in allowing the recent hostilities to spin out of control. “I see the warning fire as an attempt to prevent any escalation,” he said. “In Israel, no one wants a war with Syria or even an attempt to intervene in the events. The only thing that worries us is a spillover by this form or another. So I think it’s a warning: `Take care.’”

For months now, Israeli officials have said that it is only a matter of time before Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is permanently ousted, yet speculation has grown that Assad may attack Israel in a final act of desperation if he fears his days are numbered.

The Israeli air force has repeatedly demonstrated its superiority over Assad’s outdated military, buzzing his residence in one famous instance to protest attacks by Syrian-backed militants and carrying out an airstrike on what the U.S. later said was an unfinished nuclear reactor. Nonetheless, Israel worries the fall of Assad could portend a wide range of grave consequences. Israel fears that Syria could fall into the hands of Islamic extremists or descend into sectarian warfare and another lingering fear is that Syria’s chemical weapons and missiles could fall into the hands of its Lebanese ally, the Hezbollah guerrilla group, or other anti-Israel militants if Assad loses power. There are also concerns that Syria could become a staging ground for attacks by al-Qaeda-linked groups battling Assad.

The aftermath of Egypt’s revolution has provided Israel with additional reason to worry about its frontier region with Syria as Egypt’s Sinai desert on Israel’s southern border has turned even more lawless since longtime Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was ousted in February 2011. Islamic militants are now more easily able to use it as a launching ground for strikes against southern Israel.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement from his New York office that the Syrian shelling was reported in the U.N. monitored zone between Israel and Syria and called “for the utmost restraint”. He urged Syria and Israel to uphold their cease-fire agreement and halt any exchange of fire.

The bloody violence in Syria has taken the lives of more than 36,000 people since the uprising against the Assad regime began in March 2011. Hundreds of thousands have fled the fighting into neighboring Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq. On November 9th, another 11,000 escaped into Turkey following the surge of fighting at the rebel-held town of Ras al-Ayn and on Monday, November 12th, a Syrian war plane bombed the town, which lies just yards across a border fence from the Turkish town of Ceylanpinar, sending shrapnel and injured refugees into Turkey. Turkey’s state news reported that at least 16 people died in the attacks.

Since Saturday, November 10th, Israel’s southern flank has been under siege by a barrage of incessant Kassam rocket attacks emanating from Hamas forces in Gaza and aimed at Israel’s southern towns including Sderot and the Eshkol region. The violence was precipitated when Islamic Jihad terrorists fired an anti-tank missile at an IDF Jeep carrying out a routine patrol on the Israeli side of the border on Saturday, striking the vehicle directly and wounding four soldiers. One soldier was in serious condition with a head injury. In response, Israel began shelling Hamas positions in Gaza and four Palestinians were killed and about two dozen more were wounded.

This was immediately followed by the firing of 25 rockets at southern Israel by Hamas militants, triggering air raid sirens in Ashkelon, Ashdod, Gan Yavne and smaller communities. At least eight long range rockets were included in the barrage, one of which hit north of Ashdod. The Iron Dome anti-rocket system intercepted at least one rocket headed for the city.

On Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that Israel will not hesitate to launch a major IDF operation against Gaza-based terrorist factions if necessary – after some 100 rockets hit southern Israel in 24 hours.

In Sderot, three people were wounded by rocket fire during a barrage fired to coincide with the morning commute to work. One man was moderately wounded in his car by shrapnel and flying glass. “Something from the heavens told me not to take my son with me to school today,” Moshik Levy, a physical education teacher, told Army Radio on Sunday after he was treated for his injuries. “Shattered glass from my car windshield exploded into my face,” Levy said. “I started bleeding. I didn’t understand what was happening. Thankfully I was alone.”

Blaming Hamas for the attacks, Defense Minister Barak issued a stern warning to the terrorist organization. “If we are forced to go back into Gaza in order to deal Hamas a serious blow and restore security for all of Israel’s citizens, then we will not hesitate to do so. It is Hamas that will pay the price; a price that will be painful,” he declared. Prime Minister Netanyahu also warned, “We are prepared to intensify our response,” speaking at Sunday’s cabinet meeting. “The world needs to understand that Israel will not sit idly by in the face of attempts to attack us. The IDF is operating, and will operate, aggressively against the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip,” he said.

According to an Israeli official, the prime minister held consultations with military and security heads, including Defense Minister Barak and IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz as they weighed possible responses, including some dramatic options

US Ambassador Dan Shapiro wrote on his Facebook page, “Our thoughts are with the residents of southern Israel, who continue to be bombarded with missile attacks from terrorist organizations in Gaza. The United States supports Israel’s right to defend itself and its citizens from these attacks.”

On Sunday night, Israel Radio reported that Israeli President Shimon Peres called on the international community to stop the flow of money and resources to Hamas and reiterated that Israel would respond to fire with fire, but said that if Hamas was willing to observe a cease-fire then so would Israel.

On Sunday afternoon, Gazan terrorists fired two long-range rockets at Beersheba, triggering air raid sirens, and sending residents fleeing for cover. The Iron Dome system intercepted one of the rockets. “The primary fight is along the Gaza security fence, where we’re trying to ensure that Israel can operate as normal,” Barak told Army Radio. Labor chairwoman Shelly Yacimovich called for Barak to declare a state of emergency in the South, in light of the rocket fire. She also called on the government to pass a bill she proposed ensuring residents of the South are paid damages for days they cannot go to work because of rockets.

Overnight Sunday, two Islamic Jihad members were killed in a series of Israeli air force strikes in Gaza as the IDF struck seven targets, including a weapons production site, two weapons storage sites, and two open areas used to fire rockets in the north of the Strip. Additionally, two terrorist targets were struck in southern Gaza.

On Monday, the Associated Press reported that Israeli defense officials are considering resuming its practice of assassinating militant leaders in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip in an effort to halt intensified rocket attacks on Israel’s south that have disrupted the lives of 1 million residents living in that region. Advocates say targeted killings are an effective deterrent without the complications associated with a ground operation, chiefly civilian and Israeli troop casualties. Proponents argue they also prevent future attacks by removing their masterminds. Critics say they invite retaliation by militants and encourage them to try to assassinate Israeli leaders. Defense officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential discussions, said the assassination of Hamas leaders is shaping up as the preferred response to the stepped-up rocket fire.

Early Monday, Gaza gunmen shattered a night of relative calm as they fired nine rockets at southern Israel, abrogating a ceasefire, brokered by Egypt, which abides both sides to a mutual ceasefire to ease burgeoning tensions. Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said all nine rockets were fired after 7:30 am. “Seven were fired at the Negev desert region and two towards the Ashkelon coastal area,” he said, adding that one had landed in the yard of a house in Netivot. Medical sources said 26 people had been treated for shock in the town.

The early morning hours of Tuesday saw continued Israeli airstrikes on targets in Gaza, according to Israeli military officials. The air force bombed a weapons storage facility and two sites where rockets had been launched. A military representative said to date, militants in Gaza have launched more than 115 rockets toward Israel since Saturday. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum warned against escalating the violence and targeting civilians, saying “we cannot sit idle towards it. An end should be put to it.”

balance of natureDonate

Latest article

- Advertisement -