Israel has attacked Syria again, but this time Syria actually fired back – raising concerns about this conflict blowing-out into a wider war.
For the first time in 6 years, Israel officially acknowledged an airstrike in Syria, after a pre-down raid. However, according Syria’s military, an Israeli plane was downed and another hit another while carrying out strikes against Syria near the famed desert city of Palmyra.
“The Jewish state does not usually confirm or deny each individual raid but may have been led to do so this time by the circumstances of the incident.”
Could Israel be providing a type of air support for ISIS and other terrorists operating in Syria, particularly around Palmyra? What other reason would Israel give to intervene in an area which has been liberated from ISIS control by the Syrian Army and the Russian Airforce?
A similar conclusion could be drawn by the brutal US attack against the Syrian Army forces killing at least 80 back in September at Deir Ezzor – which allowed ISIS to advance past a position previously defended by the Syrian military.
Traditionally, the standard line Israel will give to justify attacking Syria would be to “stop Hezbollah weapons deliveries.”
Another possible motivation for Israel to raise tensions could be in order to justify an increased land-grab in the contested Golan Heights area – which UN Peacekeepers have left vacant after fleeing in 2014, leaving the area open to increased theft. Israel had illegally seized much of the area from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed it in 1981 – a move which was never recognized internationally.
Israel pays close attention to developments in the Syrian conflict for fear that it could be exploited by its arch-rival Iran to install allies close to the armistice line on the Golan and Israel’s borders.
Israel has now attacked Syria by air on numerous occasions since the onset of the Syrian War in 2011, including a particularly violent air attack in 2013, and most recently bombing Damascus in January of this year, but this is the first time that Syria has fought back in a serious manner. The danger here is that Israel might claim ‘self defense’ for its possible reaction to their loss, or in retaliation for Syria firing on Israeli planes – even though it is Israel who is the aggressor and who has a track record of aggression in Syria. In other words, Israel might use Syria’s defensive actions against Israel’s own aggressive actions as justification to escalate a conflict.
As usual, not a word from the US media, or a single word of condemnation from the UN – a body which appears to be forbidden from censuring Israel when it attacks its neighbours, or kills Palestinian civilians en mass, as it did in Gaza.
Perhaps Israel is looking for an excuse to get more involved in Syria, and by virtue of its own dirty record this far, its prime directive has to be to weaken the Syrian government, its military, and by doing so – helping lawless terrorist forces operating in Syria and the region.
Will Washington dare to make a public statement on this serious matter?
This, coupled with the very real US invasion of Syria this week should be viewed as a very disturbing and dangerous development – to anyone who cares…
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