Airstrikes fuel Israel, Syria tension
Fears of a wider conflagration
THE situation on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, and on its eastern border with Syria, have become increasingly fraught, following Russia’s military intervention in Syria – and a number of recent incidents that analysts predict could spark a wider conflagration and possibly another war.
On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Israel would continue carrying out airstrikes on arms convoys travelling from Syria, attempting to reach resistance group Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Netanyahu made it clear that Israel would not allow Russian ally Iran a military presence in Syria, or a strengthening of its proxies, including Hezbollah, as the Syrian civil war appears to be winding down with President Bashar al-Assad retaining his grip on
power, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported.
Netanyahu’s comments followed the Russian foreign ministry summoning the Israeli envoy to Russia in for explanations regarding an escalation in Syria subsequent to an Israeli air attack on targets in Syria last Friday.
Israel has carried out similar attacks in Syria over the past few years, fearing that surface-to-air missiles, and other sophisticated weaponry, reaching Hezbollah could change the balance of power by threatening Israeli jets, which fly into Lebanese air space periodically, and in any future war.
In previous such Israeli attacks, no retaliation followed with the Syrians mired down in the country’s civil war.
However, this time the Syrian military shot outdated, Russian-made SA-5 surface-to-air missiles, at the Israeli fighter jets which missed their targets.
The responding salvo was intercepted north of Jerusalem by Israel’s air defence system with the launch of an anti-ballistic Arrow missile with remnants landing in Jordan.
In addition to Syria’s retaliation, emboldened by Russian military support for it in the civil war, another significant change in the status-quo was the Israelis admitting to carrying out the initial attack on the weapons convoy – a change in strategy from previous attacks which they have refused to admit to or deny – and once again carrying out the attacks in Syrian airspace.
When a significant Russian military presence first began operating in Syria in 2015, the Israelis scaled back their attacks from directly over Syrian territory to launching assaults from Israeli or Lebanese airspace to avoid direct confrontations with Russian aircraft operating against Syrian rebels.
Following the Syrian retaliation, Israeli defence minister Avigdor Lieberman threatened to destroy Syria’s air defence systems if they were used to target Israeli fighter jets again.
And on Sunday, an Israeli drone killed Yasser Assayed, a senior military official affiliated with Damascus, after it slammed into the car he was driving in the Quneitra area of the Syrian Golan Heights – further exacerbating tensions.
Israeli analyst Amos Harel wrote in Haaretz that Syria’s new assertiveness was an attempt by Damascus to change the unofficial rules of the game, although there had been signs of such a shift prior to last week’s escalation.
“This is a dangerous development. Presumably the Syrian anti-aircraft salvo was a signal to Israel that the regime’s policy of restraint in the face of the airstrikes will not remain as it was. Assad’s recent successes – first and foremost the conquest of Aleppo – have seemingly increased the dictator’s confidence,” said Harel.
Furthermore, Syria’s growing confidence is also impacting on Hezbollah on Israel’s northern border with Israeli Chief of General Staff Gadi Eisenkot asserting that Hezbollah is violating UN resolutions and preparing for war – with the support of the Lebanese government.