Israel pushes back at Syrian war spillover
Repeated Israeli airstrikes in Syria over the weekend challenge the delicate balance Israel needs to strike in Syria’s ongoing civil war — showing a willingness to retaliate when fighting spills onto its territory while not aiding jihadi rebels trying to overthrow President Bashar Assad’s regime.
The Israeli military said yesterday it attacked a series of Syrian military targets after several projectiles from neighboring Syria landed in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights for a second day. Israel captured Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war.
Israel said it targeted two Syrian artillery positions and an ammunition truck. There were no immediate reports of casualties, though Syrian state media said a number of people were killed and five soldiers wounded. The military instructed Israeli civilians to avoid gathering in open areas in the border area.
It was the second straight day Israel responded to what it has described as errant fire from Syria. Israel has tried to stay out of the six-year civil war in Syria and refrained from taking sides, but has responded to spillover fire on numerous occasions.
“Our policy is clear: We will not tolerate any spillover or trickle whatsoever — neither mortars nor rockets, from any front,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his Cabinet yesterday. “We will respond strongly to any attack on our territory or our citizens.”
He also said Israel views “with utmost gravity” Iranian attempts to gain a foothold in Syria or to provide advanced weapons to Hezbollah, its Lebanese proxy.
Israel also is believed to have carried out airstrikes on suspected weapons shipments to its archenemy, Hezbollah, whose fighters are in Syria backing government forces.
The Jerusalem Post reported yesterday that the Syrian military threatened Israel with repercussions if it launches further attacks on Syrian army targets.
Kamran Bokhari, a senior fellow with the Center for Global Policy and analyst with Geopolitical Futures, said Israel can’t appear weak-willed in the face of fighting at its borders, but also has to guard against pushing too hard and helping rebels topple Assad.
“There is a delicate balance of power that the Israelis are trying to maintain,” Bokhari said. “Assad is actually a threat because he’s aligned with Hezbollah and Iran ... on the other hand, if Israeli action or the action of the United States serves to weaken the Assad regime, than that would bring to the fore a jihadist anarchy of sorts.”
Bradley Schreiber of Homeland Security Solutions, a former senior adviser for the Department of Homeland Security, said Israel is likely to stay out of fighting in Syria unless it feels its territory is encroached upon.