Syrian VP says Damascus' response to IAF action will come quickly
By Yoav Stern and Mazal Mualem, Haaretz Correspondents, and News Agencies
Syria's vice president said that Damascus was considering a number of responses, which it would not be slow to take, to an alleged flight by Israel Air Force jets over Syrian territory early Thursday morning.
"Leaders and senior [Syrian] military officials are considering a series of responses. The results won't take long to come," Syrian Vice President Syrian Vice President Farouk Shara said in an interview released Saturday with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.
Damascus said Thursday that Israeli jets broke the sound barrier flying over northern Syria, and then dropped munitions onto deserted areas after being shot at by Syria's air defenses. (
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Shara also said he was unable to reveal additional information because Syria's plans were a "national security matter."
A Syrian government newspaper on Saturday called the alleged IAF violation of Syrian airspace a joint U.S.-Israel operation, adding that the United States' silence on the issue encourages Israel's actions.
"This new Israeli hostile operation was carried out in coordination between Washington and Tel Aviv," the Tishrin newspaper said in a front-page editorial. "U.S. silence can only be interpreted as an overt and scandalous encouragement of Israel," it said.
It is still unclear exactly what happened, and Syria has stopped short of accusing Israel of purposely bombing its territory. An Israeli spokesman has said he could not comment on military operations. A Syrian analyst told Hebzollah's Al-Manar television that the plane was likely dumping munitions in order to maneuver, and was not carrying out a bombing raid.
In Washington, the U.S. State Department had no specific comment on the incident, citing the lack of details about what happened. Some officials suggested the administration of President George W. Bush did not want to stoke tensions further by taking sides between Israel and Syria.
The incident early Thursday came after a summer of building tensions that have fed worries of a military conflict erupting between Syria and Israel. Damascus accused Israel last month of seeking a pretext for war, and the Israelis are keeping a close watch on Syrian troop movements.
"How could a superpower call for the establishment of peace and send invitations to some countries to convene a peace conference at a time when it maintains silence over a clear violation of the simplest laws and international norms?" Tishrin said in its editorial on Saturday of the U.S. remaining silent.
The newspaper also criticized Arab countries for planning to attend the proposed conference. "How would they go to Bush's conference and how would they justify to their people shaking hands with those who kill Palestinians and Iraqis and threaten the Arabs' future with grave consequences?" it said.
The Arab League on Friday branded the reported violation of Syrian airspace by the Israel Air Force as unacceptable, saying that it called into question Israel's commitment to achieving regional peace.
"These unacceptable maneuvers reveal negative Israeli intentions toward current discussions to achieve peace in the Middle East," an Arab League statement quoted its secretary-general, Amr Moussa, as saying.
Meanwhile, a state-run Syrian newspaper warned Friday that the country possesses "the means to respond... so that it will deter Israel against proceeding with such unpredictable adventures."
A Syrian Army spokesman similarly said, "We warn the Israeli enemy government against this flagrant aggressive act, and retain the right to respond in an appropriate way."
"These violations add only tension to the region at a time when all parties should work on pacifying the situation, not making it worse," an Egyptian foreign ministry statement said.
Israel would give no details on the incident, of which Prime Minister Ehud Olmert denied all knowledge. "I don't know what you are talking about," Olmert said in response to a question on the issue from Haaretz, hours after his office and the Israel Defense Forces both said they refused to respond to Damascus' claims.
The IDF said it would not comment on the Syrian reports. "It is not our custom to respond to these kinds of reports," the IDF Spokesman's Office said in a statement soon after the incident was reported.
"Syria will not be drawn into an inconsequential stand-off in this unfavorable time and place," Syrian commentator Faiz a-Sayeg told Hezbollah-owned TV station Al-Manar after the incident. He added that Israel knows well that "today's Syria is very different from yesterday's Syria," especially after the Second Lebanon War. He advised Israeli leaders to reconsider their policy after the last war.
In an interview Sunday night with Haaretz, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said he saw no reason for any forthcoming military conflict between Israel and Syria.
Iran, which has strong relations with Syria and whose leader, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, repeatedly calls for Israel's destruction, blasted Israel on Thursday over Syria's claims, and accused Jerusalem of "spreading insecurity" in the Middle East.
"The aims of that... provocative move by the Zionist regime was to shift its domestic crisis into areas other than Palestine, spreading insecurity in the region and covering up its failure in the 33-day war against Lebanon," said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini.
Syrian VP says Damascus' response to IAF action will come quickly
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