Israel Will Continue to Defend Citizens in Response to Syria Threats

The Fellowship  |  March 20, 2017

As we report in today’s Daily Dispatch, Israel has carried out additional strikes in Syria, to halt Hezbollah weapons transfers and in response to Syrian missile attacks last week. Now, The Times of Israel reports, Israel’s ambassador to the U.N. has called out his Syrian counterpart for hypocrisy, while stating that Israel will continue to defend her people against all threats:

“It is the peak of hypocrisy for the ambassador of a regime that massacres its own people to level such accusations at us,” said Danon in a statement early Monday.

“Israel will continue to defend its citizens and will act against any attempt to harm them,” he vowed.

In an early Friday morning operation, Israeli jets hit an arms transfer meant for Hezbollah near Palmyra, with Syrian air defenses firing missiles at the planes. One missile was intercepted by Israel’s Arrow missile defense battery, military officials said, in the first reported use of the advanced system. It was the most serious incident between the two countries since the Syrian civil war began six years ago.

Speaking on Syrian state TV on Sunday, Syria’s ambassador to the UN, Bashar al-Jaafari, said the Syrian response was “appropriate and in line with Israel’s terrorist operation,” and that Israel “will now think a million times [before striking again],” according to a translation cited in Ynet.

“Syria’s forceful response to the Israeli attacks changed the rules of the game,” he said.

The comment emphasized the escalating tensions between Damascus and Jerusalem in recent days and came hours before Israel reportedly carried out a number of strikes overnight Sunday-Monday, including on yet another Hezbollah weapons convoy…