Syria Protests Israeli Air Strike
January 31, 2013
by Edward Yeranian
Syria's foreign ministry on Thursday complained to the United Nations about an Israeli air strike on Syrian territory.
U.S. and regional security sources told Western news agencies that Israeli aircraft on Wednesday hit a convoy heading toward Lebanon and transporting missiles, likely into the hands of the militant faction Hezbollah.
The White House Thursday warned Syria against transferring weapons to Hezbollah.
Syria's state news agency said Israeli warplanes attacked the Jamraya military research facility outside Damascus. People living nearby said several rockets hit the complex, causing a fire. Syrian rebels claimed they had fired mortar shells at the facility.
Israel has neither confirmed nor denied launching any military operation in Syria.
Syria allies rally
But Syrian government allies — Iran, Russia and Hezbollah — condemned the attack.
A Russian foreign ministry spokesman said that if the reports are confirmed, the attack would be an "unacceptable" action against a sovereign nation, in violation of the United Nations charter.
Syria and Iran warned Israel that they may retaliate.
Syrian ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul-Karim Ali said Thursday that Syria has the "option" of carrying out a "surprise" response to Wednesday's attack. He did not elaborate.
An Israeli air raid against a suspected Syrian nuclear facility in 2007, however, drew no response from Syria.
In Iran, news agencies quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian as saying the Wednesday raid would have "serious consequences" for Israel's commercial capital of Tel Aviv.
Tehran is the main regional ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who has been fighting a two-year rebellion against his family's decades-long rule.
Hezbollah connection
In recent days, Israeli officials have expressed increasing concern about what they see as a threat of Assad transferring sophisticated arms or chemical weapons to Hezbollah, which fought a month-long war with Israel in 2006.
Despite its political arm, Hezbollah is considered a terrorist organization by some nations and has among its goals the destruction of Israel.
Quoting Israeli officials, Israeli media have reported that Hezbollah's acquisition of surface-to-air missiles from Syria would be a “game changer."
Israeli lawmaker Tzahi Hanegbi said Thursday that Israel's preference is for Western powers to control those weapons. But, he said the international community is not prepared to take such action, leaving Israel in a "dilemma" that only it knows how to resolve.
Middle East Analyst Riad Kahwaji, director of the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis, said Wednesday's attack was a warning to Damascus from Israel.
“What we witnessed is the Israeli implementation of a self-declared red line," he said.
VOA'S Michael Lipin contributed to this report.
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