Syria Gunmen Infiltrate Disused Israel Army Post On Golan

Gunmen from Syria infiltrated a disused army outpost in the Israeli-occupied area of the Golan Heights just beyond the ceasefire line, a military spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

The incident, which occurred overnight, saw an unspecified number of Syrian gunmen entering the position and firing towards an Israeli army patrol, which returned fire.

“Yesterday evening, suspicious movement was spotted in an unmanned Israeli military position position east of the fence in the southern Golan Heights,” the army spokeswoman said, indicating the post was in Israeli territory.

“Then shots were fired at an Israeli military patrol in the area and they returned fire at the souce,” she said, adding that there were no injuries or damage on the Israeli side.

It was not immediately clear whether any of the Syrian gunmen had been hurt in the exchange.

The incident came a day after several mortar rounds hit the Israeli side of the Golan, causing several fires to break out along the ceasefire line as Syrian rebels battled regime forces near the Quneitra crossing.

Israel’s UN envoy Ron Prosor on Tuesday called on the Security Council to condemn the mortar fire which he said was a “grave violation” of the 1974 ceasefire accord between Israel and Syria.

Israel, he wrote, had so far shown “maximum restraint” over fallout from the Syria conflict, but he warned that the government “will not allow its citizens to be the ongoing victims of these attacks and will continue to exercise its right to self-defence”.

The Golan has been tense since the Syrian uprising began in March 2011, with several instances of small arms fire and mortar rounds hitting the Israeli side prompting a occasional armed response.

Israel seized 1,200 square kilometres (460 square miles) of the strategic plateau during the 1967 Six Day War, which it later annexed in a move never recognised by the international community.

Source : Ahram