Syrian revenge: Hackers attack Israeli guesthouse websites
Assad-affiliated hackers attack '50 Zionist entity websites,' guesthouses in north, online furniture retailer; say ready to take on anyone who threatens Syria's 'pure' lands
A number of hours after Damascus admitted that an attack took place, the organization, which calls itself the Syrian Electronic Army, claimed: "We have hacked into 50 central Israeli websites."
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Syrian officials were quick to claim that the attack would not go unavenged, however it is doubtful whether this is what they meant.
"After 'Israel' attacked (our) Center for Scientific Research in Rural Damascus (sic), we decided to respond, but in our way, (the) Syrian Electronic Army hacked dozens of the Zionist entity websites," the hacker group's website said.
Syrian Electronic Army website: Revenge 'our way'
The hackers, who are affiliated with President Bashar Assad's regime, claimed on their Facebook page that additional attacks can be expected, and that they will prove to the world that the Syrian Electronic Army is ready to take on anyone who threatens Syria's "pure" lands.
Despite the harsh wording of its statements, a small review of the websites attacked revealed that any connection between them and Israeli security is minimal at best.
In a list published by the hackers, they cited attacking websites affiliated with guesthouses in the north, the website of a northern moshav, sites offering diet and nutrition workshops, a site offering a course in online advertising, a portal for alternative medicine and even a site that shows the time in foreign countries.
Electronic Army's Facebook page threatens further attacks
A Ynet examination of the list revealed that only a fraction of the sites mentioned were actually downed. Moreover it remains unclear whether Syrian hackers' "virtual revenge" was the actual cause of the technical glitches that caused the sites to go offline.
Convoy or Compound?
Syrian officials have admitted that a military research center in Jamraya, north-west of Damascus, was attacked, but different reports from around the world have claimed that the true target of the attack was a Hezbollah-bound weapons convoy carrying SA-17 missiles.
In Iran, the semi-official Fars news agency quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian on Thursday as saying the raid on Syria will have significant implications for the Israeli city of Tel Aviv.
Thus Iran joined the chorus of condemnation led by Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul-Karim Ali who said Damascus has "the option of a surprise retaliation," adding that the attacks proves Israel and the rebels share a common goal.
The Arab League also condemned "the Israeli Air Force's invasion of Syrian air space and bombing of a scientific research center," calling it "cruel aggression."
The League further called on the international community to take responsibility and put an end to "continued Israeli attacks against the Arab states."
"Israel should be held liable for the results of its aggression," it said.
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