Tag Archive for Syrian unrest

| May 20, 2013
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Shots Fired at IDF from Syria Border…Again

IDF assessment was that the gunfire was spillover from fighting between Syrian forces & rebels. No one is hurt.

By Gil Ronen

 

IDF soldiers carrying out routine security assignments along the border with Syria reported that shots were fired in their direction from the Syrian side of the border Monday morning.

No one was reported hurt in the incident.

The IDF’s general assessment is that the gunfire is spillover from the fighting in Syria, between forces loyal to President Bashar Assad and rebels.

There have been several incidents of fire from Syria hitting Israel in the last few months, including mortar shells. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| May 15, 2013
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Israel warns Assad: If you or your proxies attack us, we’ll end your reign

 

Israeli Official reports to the New York Times that if Hezbollah or Assad’s forces attack Israel,  “he will risk forfeiting his regime, for Israel will retaliate.”

By

 

“If Syrian President Assad reacts by attacking Israel…he will risk forfeiting his regime,” a senior Israeli official told the New York Times on Wednesday.

A photo released by Syria's state news agency allegedly showing the damage caused by Israel's airstr

A photo released by Syria’s state news agency allegedly showing the damage caused by an Israeli strike. – Photo: AFP

The Times’ White House correspondent Mark Landler wrote that the official contacted the newspaper on his own initiative.

Landler added that the official had been briefed in the last two days by other senior Israeli officials, who have intimate knowledge of the recent developments in Syria. Continue Reading »

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| May 14, 2013
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Putin Greets Netanyahu in Russia for talks on Syria

Israel’s PM expected to ask Putin not to carry out S-300 air defense systems sale to Assad, fearing the deal would complicate future foreign intervention in ending Syrian war.

By Attila Somfalv

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Russian President Vladimir Putin Tuesday at Putin’s residence in Sochi.

(צילום: EPA)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said upon meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin that he was pleased at the opportunity to discuss instability at the Middle East with Russia. The Russian president thanked the prime minister for accepting the invitation to visit Russia.

The two are expected to discuss developments in Syria and the reported deal between Russia and Bashar Assad’s regime. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| May 13, 2013
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Syria tells Israel it may enter Golan at any time

Syrian Information Minister: “We have the right to go in and out of it whenever we want and however we please.”

By JTA

JERUSALEM — A Syrian government official warned that his country can enter the Israeli-held Golan Heights at any time.

UNDOF soldiers watching for rebel fighters who've infiltrated the Golan Heights DMZ - Photo Israel Today

UNDOF soldiers watching for rebel fighters who’ve infiltrated the Golan Heights DMZ – Photo Israel Today

“The Golan is Syrian Arab territory and will remain so, even if the Israeli army is stationed there,” Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi said Sunday at a news conference in Damascus. “We have the right to go in and out of it whenever we want and however we please.”

Continue Reading »

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| May 13, 2013
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Everyone Blames Israel: Rebel leader says Israel wants Assad kept in power

Rebel militia

commander

 claims alleged Israeli airstrikes in Damascus were aimed at preventing weapons from falling into rebel hands.

 

He went on to says Jerusalem is cooperating with Iran & Hezbollah to keep Assad in power.

By Ynet

 

 

The commander of a Syrian rebel militia is claiming that the alleged Israeli airstrikes in Damascus were meant to prevent rebels from seizing Assad’s weapons caches, Turkey’s Today Zaman reported Sunday.

 SA 17

Abdul Qader Saleh, commander of the Al-Tawhid Brigade, told the Turkish news agency Cihan that Bashar Assad‘s regime has in fact already been defeated and that Iran and Hezbollah , with Israel’s backing, are preventing his downfall. Continue Reading »

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| May 11, 2013
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Golan Druze divided over Syrian strife

The Druze residents of Majdal Shams differ in opinion over Assad’s regime, with some angrily calling alleged Israeli air-strike ‘terrorism,’ while others are calling for Syrian president’s elimination.

By Hassan Shaalan

 

 

Most residents of northern Druze village of Majdal Shams believe that a war will break out soon. The explosion shockwaves are very well felt in the border-adjacent Druze village, in which most residents profess they are part of the Syrian people.

מג'דל שמס. על הגבול (צילום: Google Maps)

Majdal Shams – Photo: Google Maps

The latest alleged Israeli attack in Syria caused much controversy in the village. Some residents support the Assad regime, and see the attack as “a terrorist act”. Continue Reading »

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| May 10, 2013
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Israeli finds aid to help Syrians ‘being butchered nearby’

Moti Kahana ‘can’t sit still as women & children are being butchered nearby’.

 

Syrian rebel: American airstrikes could

collapse Assad’s regime.

Yitzhak Benhorin

As many in Israel are concerned over the possibility that the civil war raging in Syria will spill over to the Golan Heights and strengthen the standing of Hezbollah, some Israelis regard the crisis in the neighboring country from another angle entirely.

כהנא. "לא חשבנו שהמלחמה תימשך כל כך הרבה זמן" (צילום: יצחק בן-חורין)

Moti Kahan – Photo: Yitzhak Benhorin

Jerusalem native Moti Kahana heads a group of Israeli businessmen and American Jews who travel to the Syrian refugee camps to provide humanitarian aid to victims of one of the era’s bloodiest conflicts. Continue Reading »

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| May 9, 2013
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Report: Israel briefed US on planned Russian advanced-missile sale to Syria

 

WSJ reports Israel informed the U.S. that Russia has sold advanced S-300 anti-aircraft missile batteries to Syria, making any future no-fly zone impossible.

Intel comes a day after Kerry left Moscow.

By Reuters & Israel Hayom Staff

 

 

Israel has warned the U.S. that Russia plans to sell advanced ground-to-air missile systems to Syria despite Western pressure on Moscow to hold off on such a move, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

A Russian S-300 missile battery – Photo: Russian Defense Ministry

The newspaper said U.S. officials had confirmed they were analyzing the Israeli reports, but would not comment on whether they believed the sale of S-300 missile batteries was near.

Continue Reading »
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| May 9, 2013
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Fatah: Resistance doesn’t take orders from Assad or Hezbollah

Fatah plays down report that Assad wants Palestinians to attack Israel via the Golan in response to alleged air-attack.

By ARIEL BEN SOLOMON

 

 

Fatah spokesman Ahmad Assaf played down the report from The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday, which stated that Syria was planning to allow Palestinian factions to attack Israel through the Golan in response to the alleged Israeli attack against Syria.

Palestinians in Syria protest [file]

Palestinians in Syria protest [file] – Photo: REUTERS

The press statement said that the Palestinian resistance does not function by the “push of a button,” according to a report in the London-based daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi.The resistance, according to the statement, does not take orders from any party in respect to the Syrian situation.

Continue Reading »
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| May 8, 2013
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Iran sacrifices Syria saying it will turn Golan into ‘Fatahland’

Iran issues war-like declaration ordering Syrian army to protect homeland (Hezbollah’s interests), according to Hezbollah-affiliated newspaper: ‘Front open to Syrians, Palestinians & to all who wish to fight Israel’

By Roi Kais

 

Will the latest attack allegedly carried out by Israel on the Syrian front awaken a military response from the Assad regime and its supporters?

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah broadcasting from his underground hiding place - Photo Reuters

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah broadcasting from his underground hiding place – Photo: Reuters

On Wednesday, the Hezbollah-identified Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar quoted Iranian officials who claimed that Iran received a message from the United States and Russia stating that the alleged Israeli airstrike was not an attempt to launch a war against Syria. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , ,
| May 6, 2013
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Syrian army source: ‘Israel used depleted uranium shells in attack’

Syrian military source downplays strategic importance of strike but assumes Israel
used depleted uranium shells to explain intensity of strike.

By JPOST.COM STAFF

 

Israel used depleted uranium shells in the alleged strike in Syria on Sunday, a senior Syrian military source told Russia Today on Monday.

Israeli Fighter Jet F-16

Israeli Fighter Jet F-16 – Photo Courtesy IDF spokesman.

“When the explosion happened it felt like an earthquake, then a giant golden mushroom of fire appeared. This tells us that Israel used depleted uranium shells,” the source said.

Depleted uranium is a byproduct of the production of enriched uranium for use in nuclear reactors. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| May 6, 2013
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2 Syrian mortars land in Golan – none hurt, no damages

 

IDF says errant shells launched during fierce battles between Syrian rebels & regime’s forces explode in southern Golan Heights.

The Army decides to downsizes drill in north to reduce tensions. Top IDF Commander reports: ‘There are no winds of war’.

Yoav Zitun, Maor Buchnik

 

 

Two mortar shells fired Monday afternoon during battles between the Syrian army and rebels trying to overthrown President Bashar Assad‘s regime exploded in an open area near the border fence in the southern Golan Heights region, near Ramat Magshimim. Another mortar landed in Syrian territory.

אזור נפילת הפצצה בגולן (צילום: אביהו שפירא )

Area in which mortars landed – Photo: Avihu Shapira

No injuries were reported in the incident, which was apparently the result of errant fire. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , ,
| May 5, 2013
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Netanyahu off to China, 2 hours late due to Syrian unrest

Despite tensions on northern border, visit to China continues as planned. On agenda: Trade relations & far more serious sanctions on Iran.

By Atilla Somfalvi

Even as things heat up in the north, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took off for China, with a slight two hour delay, due to the situation on the Syrian front. The main issues scheduled for discussion during the prime minister’s China meetings include economics and Iran.

עסקים כרגיל. נתניהו בישיבת הממשלה המיוחדת היום בהר הרצל (צילום: נועם מושקוביץ)

Special cabinet meeting convened Sunday – Photo: Noam Moskovich

Sunday morning Netanyahu made no mention of the attacks on Syria, for which Israeli officials had told news agencies that Israel was responsible. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| May 5, 2013
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Explosions Shock Damascus, Israel Accused of 2nd Airstrike

A series of ground-shaking explosions rock Damascus, as local media claims that Israel responsible for rocket attack on research center in capital.

By Arutz Sheva Staff

 

 

A series of explosions were heard in Damascus overnight Saturday, as the official Syrian news agency SANA claimed that Israel carried out a rocket attack on the Jamraya scientific research center in Damascus.

Blast in central Damascus - AFP photo

Blast in central Damascus – AFP photo

The agency did not say whether there were any wounded or dead.

Syrian television said “the Israeli attack aims at loosening the noose around the terrorists in the eastern Ghouta” region, near Damascus. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| May 5, 2013
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Report: Hizbullah Received Advanced Missiles from Iran

The surface-to-surface missiles bound for Hizbullah that were destroyed in an Israel Air Force airstrike were reportedly sent by Iran.

By Maayana Miskin

 

The “game changing” weapons destroyed in an Israeli airstrike Friday before they could reach Hizbullah were sent by Iran, the New York Times reports, citing senior American officials.

The strike reportedly targeted Fateh-110 missiles. The Fateh-110 has a range of up to 300 kilometers.

Syrian sources gave the New York Times similar information, saying that Iran had sent arms and rockets to Damascus International Airport and planned to ship them on to Hizbullah.

A diplomatic source in Lebanon previously told the AFP news agency that the airstrike destroyed surface-to-air missiles delivered by Russia. Continue Reading »

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