Israel says it will prevent Syria’s army from operating south of Damascus and is voicing support for separatist movements [Getty]
Several Arab countries have condemned Israeli aggression in Syria after a wave of airstrikes across the country’s south on Tuesday.
The strikes targeted several Syrian military sites and came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to block Syrian forces from operating south of Damascus and support for Syrian separatists from other Israeli ministers.
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit responded to the attacks by describing them as a “reckless provocation and an escalation to exploit Syria’s political transition to establish an illegal reality”.
He called on the international community to condemn the aggression, which he said aims to raise tensions in the region and sabotage Syria’s political transition.
Turkey – one of the Syrian government’s closest allies – accused Israel of expansionism.
“The biggest obstacle to peace and stability in our region is Israel’s regional aggression,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Wednesday.
“Netanyahu’s recent statements regarding Syria clearly show that Israel is not in favor of peace. Israel must end its regional expansionism under the guise of establishing security,” Fidan added.
The Egyptian and Jordanian foreign ministries further described the attacks as a “flagrant violation of international law” and called on the UN Security Council to force Israel to halt its attacks. Meanwhile, the Saudi Foreign Ministry accused Israel of attempting to destabilise the country.
Israel accuses the new government in Damascus, which came into power following the ouster of Bashar al-Assad in December, of being an “Islamic jihad terrorist group” and ministers are now openly calling for the fragmentation of the country along sectarian lines.
Israel’s aggression triggered protests across the south this week supporting a unified Syria and denouncing Netanyahu and the Israeli occupation.
Syria tensions
The recent developments come amid heightened tensions in Syria in recent days. At least three people were injured in Al-Qardaha after security forces arrested 10 people and attempted to raid a house belonging to an officer in the former Assad regime, according to the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights.
Dozens of people gathered at a local security station to protest the arrest in signs of rising tensions in the Alawite-majority city, the conflict monitor said.
Al-Qardaha is the birthplace of former Syrian dictator Hafez al-Assad, the father of Bashar.
Concerns among the Alawite minority about the country’s new Sunni Islamist-dominated government have increased amid large-scale arrests by security forces of former regime remnants in Latakia and Homs provinces.
Meanwhile, two security forces personnel were injured when gunmen attacked a checkpoint in the Damascus countryside, the interior ministry said Thursday morning.
A local security official said the attack occurred near the town of Jdaidet al-Fadl and was carried out by people linked to the former Assad regime, the ministry wrote on its Telegram channel.
