Yet another example of Arab diplomacy:
In a secret message relayed to Jerusalem, Syria warned the Israeli government that should it continue to reject Damascus’ peace overtures, a war of attrition may break out in the Golan Heights, according to a report published Thursday.
Yedioth Ahronot has learned that in recent days Israel received reports of increased Syrian presence on its side of the Golan Heights in preparation for a possible war.
Interesting timing, isn’t it? Why, it comes mere days after Ahmadinejad went to Syria to talk to Assad and Nasrallah, and then threatened Israel and the U.S. with a hot summer.
During the past year the Syrian government has encouraged its citizens to settle in the Syrian side of the Golan Heights; Israel has recently learned that many of those who have made the Golan their new home were officers in active or reserve army duty who had lost their jobs following Syria’s withdrawal from Lebanon in 2005.
Should a military conflict erupt in the region, these officers are expected to spearhead acts of attrition against Israel.
The Golan Heights are still extremely valuable militarily. Because this is what Syria did when the Golan was under Syrian control:
From 1948-67, when Syria controlled the Golan Heights, it used the area as a military stronghold from which its troops randomly sniped at Israeli civilians in the Huleh Valley below, forcing children living on kibbutzim to sleep in bomb shelters. In addition, many roads in northern Israel could be crossed only after probing by mine-detection vehicles. In late 1966, a youth was blown to pieces by a mine while playing football near the Lebanon border. In some cases, attacks were carried out by Yasir Arafat’s Fatah, which Syria allowed to operate from its territory.
Israel’s options for countering the Syrian attacks were constrained by the geography of the Heights. “Counterbattery fires were limited by the lack of observation from the Huleh Valley; air attacks were degraded by well-dug-in Syrian positions with strong overhead cover, and a ground attack against the positions…would require major forces with the attendant risks of heavy casualties and severe political repercussions,” U.S. Army Col. (Ret.) Irving Heymont observed.
Why would anyone believe it would be any different today, when Syria is working arm-in-arm with Iran? The world ignores the near-daily rocket bombardment from Gaza. It would also ignore bombardments from the Golan into Israel. It did before.
Israel repeatedly, and unsuccessfully, protested the Syrian bombardments to the UN Mixed Armistice Commission, which was charged with policing the cease-fire. For example, Israel went to the UN in October 1966 to demand a halt to the Fatah attacks. The response from Damascus was defiant. “It is not our duty to stop them, but to encourage and strengthen them,” the Syrian ambassador responded. Nothing was done to stop Syria’s aggression. A mild Security Council resolution expressing “regret” for such incidents was vetoed by the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, Israel was condemned by the UN when it retaliated. “As far as the Security Council was officially concerned,” historian Netanel Lorch wrote, “there was an open season for killing Israelis on their own territory.”
I read recently an article that thinks August is the month for hostilities to break out. I’m wondering if that article wasn’t correct.
I wonder who the Syrians think they’re impressing. It’s not like they’ve EVER won a war with Israel.
They’re trying to impress Iran. “Look, boss! I’m scaring the Israelis!”
Syria gets less respect than Rodney Dangerfield did. Even Olmert is ignoring them by failing to turn over the Golan before negotiations begin.
I used to think this was funny. But not any more. Israel could be facing a three-front war of missiles. The civilian casualties of that could be horrendous.
For all we know, there are rockets in hiding in the West Bank, too, which would make it even worse.
Sure, the IAF can take out rocket launchers five minutes after they launch. But that won’t stop the rockets from launching.
He may be a dorktator, but he’s a dorktator that thinks. He has allied himself with Israel’s most powerful enemy. And the Soviets–excuse me, Russians–are ready to arm Israel’s enemies all over again.
Not looking good right now, and not very funny, either.
The Syrians were emboldened because Israel did not strike at them during last year’s Hezbollah war and exact a price for shoveling Iranian and domestically-produced rockets at Hezbollah as fast as they could. It was both a tactical and strategic blunder for Israel to have left Syria unscathed.
Inform the Dorktator that he has more territory he can lose if he starts a “war of attrition”. There is no need for Israel to fight on his terms. If the locals on the Golan are fighting Israel sweep them away. And if his troops start shelling Israeli civilians again, well Damascus makes a nice, big target for Israel artillery.
What “peace overtures”?
Can somebody please explain to my why anyone, let alone Israel cares one wit what the witless UN thinks or does? Seriously, what are they going to do? Send unarmed peacekeepers to Israel? Write them a nasty letter? Why let her citizens suffer and be killed without retaliation just because the UN might issue a “statement.”