Both sides preparing for war on the Golan Heights
In response to Syria's opening a key highway that had been closed for forty years - which Israel believes was done to facilitate terror attacks on Golan Heights towns - Israel has begun building up its forces on the Golan Heights as well according to a report in WorldNetDaily.
(The picture above was taken from the western edge of Tverya (Tiberias) looking across the Kineret (Sea of Galilee) towards the Golan Heights. I think it makes the Heights' strategic value obvious).
Syria has threatened war if Israel does not vacate the Heights by August or September.
A tour of the Golan Heights yesterday found multiple Israeli army positions local residents and soldiers stationed here say were established within the past few weeks. More tanks have been patrolling the area, with several tanks setting up shop in strategic positions looking down on Syria. Makeshift military outposts have been erected and Golan checkpoints fortified.
Several old Israeli Defense Forces military installations in the Golan were reopened the last two months. According to local soldiers, the installations have been largely unused since the 1980s.
In several Golan positions near the Syrian border, IDF tractors cleared the way in recent weeks so that tanks can amass in the area if needed, said soldiers stationed here.
On the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, multiple moves have been made Israeli security officials say are "concerning."
The security officials confirmed the stepped-up military presence of Syrian troops deployed near the Syrian side of the Golan Heights with strengthened forces after carrying out increased training the past few months. The security officials said Syria recently increased production of rockets and acquired missiles capable of hitting central Israeli population centers.
...
The security officials said the greatest threats Syria poses to the Jewish state are the country's missiles and rockets. They noted Syria recently test-fired two Scud-D surface-to-surface missiles, which have a range of about 250 miles, covering most Israeli territory. The officials said the Syrian missile test was coordinated with Iran and is believed to have been successful. It is not known what type of warhead the missiles had.
In addition to longer-range Scuds, Syria is in possession of shorter-range missiles such as 220 millimeter and 305 millimeter rockets, some of which have been passed on to Hezbollah.
Israel also has information Syria recently acquired and deployed Chinese-made C-802 missiles, which were successfully used against the Israeli navy during Israel's war against Hezbollah one year ago. The missiles were passed to Syria by Iran, Israeli security officials told WND.
Israeli security officials said Syria is indeed preparing for a summer war. But they said there was an argument within the Israeli intelligence community whether the military buildup is for an attack or is meant by Syria to pressure Israel into vacating the Golan Heights. Some officials said Syria estimates the U.S. or Israel will attack Iran, and Syria will be drawn into a larger military confrontation by opening up a front against northern Israel. Also, the officials said, Syria may believe Israel will attack first and its preparations are defensive in nature.
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 3:56 PM
2 Comments:
Any truth to the alleged reports that the Russians ferried out WMD's from Iraq to Syria 4 weeks before the Iraq invasion?
Daniel,
I've heard that several times and have even blogged some of the reports. Yes, it's true. (The Russian part may not be, but there are almost certainly Iraqi WIMD's in Syria - in addition to Syria's own).
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