Israel

IDF Responds as Syrian Fire Again Crosses the Border

Saturday, October 21, 2017 6:48 pm | 2 Minute Read

By Dov Benovadia

A picture taken from the Israeli side of the border shows smoke rising near the Israeli-Syrian border in the Golan Heights during fights between the rebels and the Syrian army. (Basel Awidat/Flash90, File)

IDF forces over the weekend returned fire at Syrian positions on the Golan Heights after at least four Syrian missiles fell in Israeli territory. Air raid sirens were sounded about 5:00 a.m. Shabbos morning in what Israeli officials said appeared to be a misfiring of missiles by one of the parties to the conflict in Syria, where fighting between rebels and Syrian army forces continues. Israeli troops responded with attacks on at least three missile batteries on the Syrian side of the border. It was the second time in a week that Syrian fire crossed the border into Israel, eliciting an Israeli response

In a statement, the IDF said that “these incidents have been ongoing and will continue to elicit a sharp reaction from Israel. The IDF will not tolerate any attempts to violate Israeli sovereignty and attempts to harm the security of Israelis. We see the Syrian government as responsible for everything that happens in areas under its control.”

On Shabbos afternoon, a Jewish boy was injured in a rock attack in Chevron. The boy was on a walk with his friends, and an Arab threw a rock at them from an upper story of a building. Other children ran to summon help, and rescue workers arrived after several minutes, treating the boy on site and then taking him to a hospital in Yerushalayim.

In a statement, the Chevron Jewish community said that “the ongoing incitement to murder Jews in Chevron begins from the mayor of Chevron and down, as he is guilty of the murder of six Jews.” Tayseer Abu Sneinah was elected mayor of Chevron this year as a representative of the Fatah list. He is one of four terrorists who was convicted for murdering six yeshivah students and wounding 16 others in 1980. The four, including Abu Sneinah, were sentenced to life in prison, but were eventually released in various deals and “gestures” by the Israeli government. The victims included Tzvi Glatt (an American citizen), Eli HaZe’ev, Shmuel Marmelstein, Hanan Krauthhammer, Gershon Klein and Ya’akov Zimmerman, Hy”d.