Israel fires warning shots into Syrian territory

[jimmy olsen]

If it was an accident, seems odd that it just managed to hit an Israeli military outpost coincidentally. 

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57548143/israel-fires-warning-shots-into-syrian-territory/

November 11, 2012, 8:58 AM
Israel fires warning shots into Syrian territory

JERUSALEM Israel was drawn into the Syrian civil war for the first time on Sunday, firing warning shots into the neighboring country after a stray mortar shell fired from Syrian territory hit an Israeli military post.

The Israeli military said the mortar fire caused no injuries or damage at the post in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war and then annexed. But in recent weeks, incidents of errant fire from Syria have multiplied, leading Israel to warn that it holds Syria responsible for fire on Israeli-held territory.

"A short while ago, a mortar shell targeted an IDF (Israel Defense Forces) post in the Golan Heights," said army spokeswoman Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich. "We answered with a warning shot toward Syrian areas. We understand this was a mistake and was not meant to target Israel and then that is why we fired a warning shot in retaliation."

The Israeli military also said it has filed a complaint through United Nations forces operating in the area, stating that "fire emanating from Syria into Israel will not be tolerated and shall be responded to with severity."

Israel and Syria are bitter foes who have fought several wars, but their shared border has been mostly quiet since a 1974 cease-fire. Still, Israel worries that Syria's civil war could spill across into the Golan, and repeated errant fire has intensified that concern.

Israel fears that if Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime is toppled, the country could fall into the hands of Islamic extremists or descend into sectarian warfare, destabilizing the region.

Israeli officials do not see Assad trying to intentionally draw Israel into the fighting, but have raised the possibility of his targeting Israel in an act of desperation. They also fear that Syria's stockpile of chemical weapons or other weapons could slip into the hands of Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group — a close Syrian ally — or reach other militants if Assad loses power.

Israeli officials also worry that the frontier region could turn into a lawless area like Egypt's Sinai desert, which Islamic militants now use as a launching ground for strikes against southern Israel.

Speaking to his Cabinet on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is "closely monitoring" the border with Syria and is "ready for any development."

© 2012 The Associated Press. 

[Grinning_Colossus]

If the shell caused no injuries or damage... then it didn't actually hit the post.

[Tamas]

I hope they'll keep their cool. You are not drawn in this way unless you want to get drawn.

At the onset of the recent Balkan Wars, Hungarian villages on the Serbian borders were regularly shelled. Luckily we didn't get involved.

[CountDeMoney]

Luckily we didn't get involved.

Yes, a lot of European countries could say that.  Unfortunately.

[Sheilbh]

This makes me think things aren't looking good for Assad.  Trying to drag Israel in is normally the sort of last hope of an Arab tyrant.

[mongers]

This makes me think things aren't looking good for Assad.  Trying to drag Israel in is normally the sort of last hope of an Arab tyrant.

One 82mm mortar round does not a war make.

[Viking]

This makes me think things aren't looking good for Assad.  Trying to drag Israel in is normally the sort of last hope of an Arab tyrant.

One 82mm mortar round does not a war make.

Saddam >>>>>> Assad

[Tamas]

Luckily we didn't get involved.

Yes, a lot of European countries could say that.  Unfortunately.

You surely must understand that the European Great Powers not interfering in a war they could end at a whim and where they have no direct national interests, is quite different to Hungary getting involved, who had a weak army, a shaky political system from the recent change from communism, and hundreds of thousands of Hungarians on the Serbian side of the border.

[Razgovory]

I thought hundreds of thousands of Hungarians across the border would mean you do have a national interest.

[CountDeMoney]

Luckily we didn't get involved.

Yes, a lot of European countries could say that.  Unfortunately.

You surely must understand that the European Great Powers not interfering in a war they could end at a whim and where they have no direct national interests, is quite different to Hungary getting involved, who had a weak army, a shaky political system from the recent change from communism, and hundreds of thousands of Hungarians on the Serbian side of the border.

I hold your entire continent responsible for its moral cowardice.

[Tamas]

I thought hundreds of thousands of Hungarians across the border would mean you do have a national interest.

Yes. That was my point. CdM made it sound like Hungary refused to act as a kind of peacekeeper interventioning country. There was no way to do that. It would had been personal.

[Razgovory]

We intervene when it's personal.

[Tamas]

We intervene when it's personal.

Except when:
-you are in no shape to fight
-have no real hope to resolve the situation by border change
-do not feel like engaging in mutual ethnic cleansings

[mongers]

I thought hundreds of thousands of Hungarians across the border would mean you do have a national interest.

I think they were, which meant Hungary not intervening, otherwise how do you think Milosevic would have reacted ?

Maybe a bit of light ethnic cleansing in Vojvodina before lunch, followed by wholesale expulsions across the border by supper ?

[Razgovory]

We intervene when it's personal.

Except when:
-you are in no shape to fight
-have no real hope to resolve the situation by border change
-do not feel like engaging in mutual ethnic cleansings

We still intervene in those cases.