Israel: Attacks in Syria will resume if weapons transfers are detected

Israeli political and security sources said that there has been no change in the Israeli approach in Syria, and that if major weapons transfers are detected they will be attacked, according to quotes by Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper today.

The sources claim that Israel has not struck Syria for a month but that “officially, there has been no change in the Israeli approach in Syria.” The same sources added that “there was no pressure from Russia to stop the attacks, and coordination with Russia in Syria continues as usual.”

The most recently announced Israeli raid in Syria took place on the night of 16-17 September and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported at the time that “the Israeli targeting was initially in the vicinity of Damascus Airport, as it targeted a warehouse belonging to Lebanon’s Hezbollah, killing two of the warehouse guards of non-Syrian nationalities. The targeting of an air defense battalion of the Assad regime, 25 km away near al-Kiswah, resulted in the killing of 5 members of the regime forces.”

According to the newspaper, “Informally, there are several reasons for the relative calm: there may have been a significant decline in arms smuggling through Syria following a series of Israeli raids on airports and the tension with Hezbollah in Lebanon over the gas field (Karesh) may have led to a decision to stop the attacks, perhaps influenced by the upcoming elections in Israel, although experience in the past indicates that an electoral battle does not hinder offensive operations.”

Israel is refraining from responding to Ukraine’s demands to provide it with offensive weapons, fearing harm to the military coordination between Israel and Russia in Syria.

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