Ynetnews > News
Search


   Israel News

Israel News
Israel Opinion
Israel Business
Israel Culture
Jewish
Israel Travel
Israel Activism
Shop
Attack Confirmed

Photo: AFP
Syrian President Bashar Assad Photo: AFP
 
Photo courtesy of Israel Air Force website
IAF jets (Archives) Photo courtesy of Israel Air Force website
 
 

IDF confirms Syria attack

Ambiguity surrounding reported IAF attack in Syria ends as Israel confirms air raid of undisclosed Syrian targets

Hanan Greenberg
Latest Update: 10.02.07, 15:03 / Israel News

After weeks of ambiguity, the IDF confirmed Tuesday that the Israeli Air Force had attacked targets in Syria in September.

 

The IDF, however, would not reveal details of where the raid took place, or its aims. According to several reports in the foreign media, the IAF attack targeted a military base housing North Korean made nuclear equipment.

 

Attack in Syria
Assad: We reserve the right to respond to Israeli raid  / Ynetnews
In BBC interview, Syrian president says Israeli air strike in northern Syria last month proved Israel's 'visceral antipathy towards peace.' Referring to regional peace conference, Assad says Syria will only participate if its concerns, including return of Golan Heights, are addressed
Full story
On September 6, the Syrian News Agency reported that an IAF fighter jet breached Syrian airspace, flying north-east and breaking the sound barrier.

 

Israel refused to comment on the Syrian report and official government sources in Syria denied the news agency's report.

 

Opposition leader MK Benjamin Netanyahu (Likud) was the first Israeli government official to acknowledge an air strike in Syria, after admitting he was privy to the decision in a television interview.

 

The ambiguity was consistent until Monday, when Syrian President Bashar Assad spoke of the attack in a BBC interview, saying Syria reserved the right to retaliate.

 

"Using the military is always an option," said Assad, adding that the Israeli attack targeted an abandoned military building in north-east Syria.

 

The Prime Minister's Office commented Tuesday on the military censor's decision to allow the IDF to confirm the Israeli Air Force raid in Syria, saying the IDF media policy regarding operational activity, has remained "unchanged".

  

Sources in the Prime Minister's Office told Ynet that the censor's decision meant that Israeli reporters would no longer have to cite the foreign media as their source in the matter.

 

Ynet reporter and commentator Ron Ben-Yishai, visited Dir a-Zour – the alleged attack site – a week ago, where he found local residents to be blasé to the reports of an Israeli attack.

 

"Israeli planes flew over making a lot of noise and maybe dropping something, but we didn't here any explosions on the ground," Ben-Yishai was told.

 

"All this talk about tension (between Israel and Syria) is nothing more than Syria flexing its muscles at Israel. There is no real threat."

 

Ynet reporter and commentator Ron Ben-Yishai, visited Dir a-Zour – the alleged attack site – a week ago, where he found local residents to be unmoved by reports of an Israeli attack.

 

"Israeli planes flew over making a lot of noise and maybe dropping something, but we didn't here any explosions on the ground," Ben-Yishai was told.

 

"All this talk about tension (between Israel and Syria) is nothing more than Syria flexing its muscles at Israel. There is no real threat."

 

First Published: 10.02.07, 14:13

 

talkbacktalkback   PrintPrint  Send to friendSend to friend   
Tag with Del.icio.us Bookmark to del.icio.us

See MorePhoto: AFPPalestinian hurt in clash with settlersPhoto: APObama: Working on new sanctions for Iran

 

 
 
26 Talkbacks for this article    See all talkbacks
Please wait for the talkbacks to load

 

RSS RSS | About | Contact Us | Privacy Policy | Terms of use | Advertise with us

Site developed by  RealCommerce - content management experts Search Engine Marketing by  Search Engine Marketing