Israel denied any attack, but by Friday no longer ruled out that a
non-combat air mission had taken place in Syria, Middle East Newsline reported. A senior official said
Israel would not discuss the alleged operation.
"Israel does not have any reason to engage in a military confrontation
with Syria," Tsahi Hanegbi, chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and
Defense Committee, said. "There is tension."
But Yoav Limor, military analyst for Israel's state-owned television,
said Israel's military might have conducted an unspecified high-value
operation in Syria. Limor said such a mission, coming less than a week
before
the Jewish New Year, would have required the approval of the government
leadership.
"Such a mission could attest to a very urgent requirement," Limor said.
An Israeli source said the Israeli mission could have been meant to test
Syrian air defenses, bolstered by Russia, or conduct reconnaissance in an
operation for the United States. In 2006, U.S. aircraft were said to have
also tested Syrian air defenses near Iraq and Turkey. The Bush
administration did not comment on the purported Israeli operation in Syria.
Syrian Information Minister Mushsein Balal said Damascus did not rule
out a military response to the Israeli air intrusion. Balal did not
elaborate.
"Syria reserves the right to determine the quality, type, and nature of
our response to the Israeli attack," Balal said. "The Syrian leadership is
seriously considering its response."
The purported Israeli operation took place near Latakia, a naval port
meant to have upgraded by Russia. Over the last year, Russia was said to
have reached agreement for the return of its navy to Syria in return for
weapons and military training.
This was the first Israeli operation in Syria since June 2006. At the
time, Syria reported that Israeli F-16 multi-role fighters buzzed the summer
residence of Syrian President Bashar Assad in Latakia.
A month later, Syria supplied missiles, rockets and other weapons to
Hizbullah during the 34-day war with Israel. Since then, the Assad regime,
seeking to adopt the Hizbullah model, has been rearming and attempted to
arrange proxy attacks against Israeli troops in the Golan Heights.
Over the last two months, Israeli sources, Syria abandoned these efforts
amid warnings by Israel of massive retaliation. The sources said Israel has
been conducting periodic reconnaissance missions over Syria to monitor troop
and weapons deployment.
"The Israel Defense Forces is doing some kind of reconnaissance of what
is going on there," Israeli parliamentarian Effie Eitam, a reserve brigadier
general, said.
The sources said Damascus has begun deployment of the new Russian-origin
Pantsyr-S1E short-range, air defense system. Damascus has also been
negotiating for the procurement of the S-300PMU1 long-range system.
"Syria is not an innocent country; it is an enemy country," Eitam said.
"You have to know, and this is good, that the IDF is keeping its eyes open."
