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Photo: Avihu Shapira
File photo
Photo: Avihu Shapira

Two errant projectiles from Syria fall inside Israel; IDF retaliates

Projectiles fall in area between Quneitra and the Valley of Tears, close to the border fence; none were hurt in the incident; IDF attacks Syrian army position in Naba'a al-Fawar in retaliation, sends warning to Assad, 'we will not tolerate any breach of Israel's sovereignty.'

Two projectiles fell in the northern Israeli Golan Heights on Saturday evening, the 17th and 18th such instance this week of spillover from the civil war in Syria. No one was hurt.

 

 

In response to the spillover fire, the IDF attacked a cannon belonging to the Syrian army. The Lebanese Al Mayadeen TV network, which is affiliated with the Assad regime and Hezbollah, reported the Israeli retaliation targeted a position of the Syrian army near the Naba'a al-Fawar base.

  

Israel-Syria border, earlier this week (Photo: Avihu Shapira)
Israel-Syria border, earlier this week (Photo: Avihu Shapira)

 

The projectiles, the result of internal fighting in Syria, fell between Quneitra and the Valley of Tears, the same area where most of the projectiles fell over the past week.

 

They landed in "no man's land" between the two border fences—the Syrian and Israeli—closer to the Syrian fence.

 

IDF forces were sent to the scene to search for the projectiles and see if any additional projectiles landed inside Israeli territory.

 

Following the falling of the projectiles, the IDF issued a warning to the Syrian regime. "Israel holds the Syrian regime responsible for any breach of its borders and will act accordingly," IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Ronen Manelis said in a statement.

 

"Israel maintains a policy of non-involvement in the Syrian civil war. However, we will not tolerate any breach of Israel's sovereignty."

 

Battles were raging on Saturday in the area between forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad and rebels fighting to topple him, with the sounds of explosions continued to carry across the border throughout the evening.

  

The spillover into Israel began last Saturday, while thousands of vacationers were visiting the Golan Heights, some of them taking part in cherry and berry pickings.

 

On Wednesday, minutes before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was to make a speech in Katzrin, a mortar shell landed in an open area in the northern Golan. An hour later, the IDF attacked the Syrian military mortars that fired the shell.

 

"During my speech, shells from the Syrian side landed in our territory and the IDF has already struck back. Whoever attacks us—we will attack him. This is our policy and we will continue with it," he said.

 

Netanyahu further added that "We courageously control the Heights, and we know what's happening beyond the border. Our line is clear—we do not interfere in the happenings in Syria, but we are determined to respond aggressively and powerfully to any violation of our sovereignty. We won't accept any spillover nor trickle in the Golan."

 

AFP contributed to this report.

 


פרסום ראשון: 07.01.17, 20:10
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