Israel and Syria Relations News: Russia, Syrian Officials Demand Answers After Israeli Aircraft Reportedly Bombs Spots Near Damascus
Over the weekend, Israeli aircraft attacked Syrian positions near Damascus, according to the Syrian military.
Israel denies the claims that its planes bombed sites near Damascus' airport and a small town, areas deemed secure under the Assad government's control. Syria and Russia have demanded answers from Israel.
The attack allegedly took place on Sunday when Israeli aircraft bombed installations near Damascus airport as well as others near the town of Dimas, according to the BBC. Syrian officials blamed Israel for the attack, calling it a "direct aggression" to help the Assad regime's opponents.
"This afternoon, the Israeli enemy targeted two safe areas in Damascus province, namely the Dimas area and the Damascus International Airport," the Syrian military said in a statement.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a human rights watchdog based in the U.K., reported (in Arabic) there had been 10 explosions near Dimas. They also said areas near the capital city, including a warehouse at the airport, were hit by air raids.
"This aggression demonstrates Israel's direct involvement in supporting terrorism in Syria along with well-known regional and Western countries to raise the morale of terrorist groups, mainly the Nusra Front," the statement explained, according to The Associated Press.
There is no evidence Israel is supporting terrorist group Nusra Front.
Nonetheless, the alleged attack has drawn the ire of both Syria and its ally Russia. Both nations have demanded answers from Israel concerning the attacks and have sent letters to U.N. officials concerning the incident.
According to RT, the Syrian government sent two identical letters: One to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and the other to the head of the Security Council. The Syrian foreign ministry's letters ask the U.N. to impose sanctions on Israel for its actions.
Similarly, Russia's foreign ministry spokesman, Alexander Lukashevich, demanded answers from Israel.
"Moscow is deeply worried by this dangerous development, the circumstances of which demand an explanation," he said.
Russia also asked the U.N. to prevent similar incidents in the future, according to Haaretz. The U.N. only said it could not confirm the incident.
"We don't have first-hand information to confirm. We will try to find more details, but now we have no comments," deputy spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General, Farhan Haq said.
Israel has not commented directly on the incident, but the government continued to assert its policy against arms trafficking to its enemies.
"We have a firm policy of preventing all possible transfers of sophisticated weapons to terrorist organizations," Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz told Israel Radio via the AP.
Since 2011, the Assad regime in Syria has been battling rebel groups trying to overthrow the government in Damascus. Over time, some of these groups have included Islamic extremist terrorist groups like ISIS.
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