Two Rockets Fired from Syria Hit the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, Israel Retaliates by Firing 20 Shells

Rockets fired from Syria hit Israeli-held Golan

January 27, 2015

AFP - At least two rockets fired from Syria hit the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Tuesday prompting Israeli forces to return fire, the army said.

There were no immediate reports of casualties on the Israeli side.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later warned that Israel was "ready to respond with force" to any attack.

Israeli army spokesman Peter Lerner said the Syrian fire was "intentional, not spillover from the Syrian civil war" as has sometimes been the case in the past.

In September the army fired at a Syrian military position in response to what it said was stray fire from fighting between soldiers and Islamist rebels close to the armistice line on the Golan.

There has been repeated fire across the ceasefire line since the uprising in Syria erupted in March 2011, not all of it stray.

In August, five rockets fired from Syria hit the Israeli-occupied sector of the Golan Heights and, in July, Israel shelled Syrian army positions when a rocket struck its territory.

Tensions have soared along the ceasefire line since a January 18 air strike attributed to Israel killed six Hezbollah fighters and an Iranian general near Quneitra on the Syrian-held side of the strategic plateau.

Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon said Friday that Israel was prepared for any retaliation by Lebanon's Hezbollah, which is operating in Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad.

"Israel will hold responsible governments, regimes and organisations on the other side of our northern borders over any violation of Israel's sovereignty, or an attack on soldiers or civilians," he said during a tour of the Golan and the nearby border with Lebanon.

Israel has deployed its Iron Dome missile defence system in the north, where local media say it is amassing tanks and infantry reinforcements.

The army said that after Tuesday's rocket attack it evacuated visitors from the Mount Hermon ski resort near the armistice line and security sources said farmers were told to leave their fields and go into bomb shelters.

Police said they had set up roadblocks to stop civilians entering the area.

Israel seized 1,200 square kilometres (460 square miles) of the Golan from Syria in the Six-Day War of 1967 and annexed it in 1981 in a move never recognised by the international community.

Syria and Israel are still officially in a state of war.

Israel strikes back after 2 rockets from Syria hit Golan Heights

January 27, 2015

LA Times - At least two rockets fired from Syria landed in Israeli territory Tuesday, drawing retaliatory fire into Syria, Israel’s military said.

The rockets landed on the Israeli-controlled side of the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau Israel seized from Syria in the 1967 Middle East War. The rockets caused no injuries but prompted the evacuation of 1,000 visitors from Mt. Hermon, Israel’s only ski site.

The Israeli army responded with artillery, firing about 20 shells at what it said was the source of fire in Syria. According to initial reports from Syria, two people were killed.

It was not immediately clear who fired the rockets, but Israel’s security forces have been on high alert since an airstrike Jan. 18 killed a dozen members of the militant group Hezbollah and Iranian forces in Syria. Iran, Syria and Hezbollah have vowed to retaliate for the operation, which was attributed to Israel.

Israel has signaled over the last week that it was not interested in an escalation but would react if attacked.

“Israel will not tolerate any provocation and will hold governments responsible for organizations operating from their territory,” said Defense  Minister Moshe Yaalon.

Meanwhile, Israel has beefed up its deployment of forces along its northern borders with Lebanon and Syria since the strike. Its forces have begun digging deep ditches to prevent cross-border infiltration from Syria, local media report.

Following Tuesday’s rocket fire, security authorities announced that the Mt. Hermon ski site would remain closed for the time being, and police deployed several roadblocks to keep civilian traffic away from the border. Israeli farmers were instructed to stay out of fields and orchards in proximity to the border with Syria.