From AP's Dan Williams' Twitter feed (@AlonBD is Alon Ben David, the chief military correspondent for Channel 10 and the anchor of its news magazine).
The Israeli air force did not attack Latakia last night, says @AlonBD, countering allegations from Syria. What about the Israeli navy?
— Dan Williams (@DanWilliams) January 27, 2014
There are several reports out confirming that the IAF struck the Syrian port of Latakia late Sunday night or early Monday morning, although so far there is no official confirmation from Israel or Syria. The more interesting question is the target. At least one report indicates that the IAF hit Russian-supplied S-300 surface-to-air missile batteries.
A powerful explosion occurred late Sunday night, shaking the Syrian
city of Latakia. The social networks in Syria were rife with reports
that "Zionist fighter planes attacked the weapons storage facilities in
the city's port," adding that "stocks of S-300 missiles were struck."
Syrian opposition forces confirmed the explosion, while Israeli
security sources declined to comment. Syrian President Bashar Assad's
regime denied reports of the explosion or of an attack.
Israeli fighter planes bombarded S-300 missile launchers in the
Syrian port city of Latakia late Sunday, Syrian opposition groups were
quoted as saying by Israel's Channel 2 television. Residents of the city
reported hearing loud explosions just around midnight.
Opposition
sources are quoted as saying that the explosion took place in the
Sheikh Dahar neighborhood just near the local port, Channel 2 reported.
The claims by the opposition have not been confirmed by any official
sources.
The Israel Air Force bombed a Syrian base in the Latakia airport in
the north of the country, Lebanese journalists reported Monday morning.
There are currently no other confirmations of this report.
Senior
Israeli officials have clarified on several occasions that Israel will
not allow the transfer of advanced weapons from Syria to Hezbollah,
which they fear will bolster the militant Shi'ite group's ability to
attack Israeli targets.
Two
weeks ago, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted that Israel is
operating to thwart the transfer of weapons, even if such reports are
not made public. He was relating specifically to the threat posed by
Hezbollah to Israeli naval ships by precise missiles.
According
to various reports in foreign media, Israel attacked weapons depots in
the Latakia area in the past, though Israel has not confirmed such
reports. Last November, U.S. sources reported that Israel was behind an attack on Russian SA-8 surface-to-air missiles near Latakia.
Embarrassed? Heck no! They don't think we deserve an answer
Israeli protests to the White House, Pentagon and CIA over US disclosure of Israel's alleged air strike on Latakia, Syria last Thursday have thus far been met with silence.
Israel’s shocked complaints produced no
American explanation or reaction whatsoever, the report went on, which
Israeli officials ascribe to embarrassment on behalf of the
administration. Israel believes the leaks may be “a consequence of
negligence.”
Jerusalem was said to be baffled as to why the
Americans would repeatedly leak word of Israeli raids in Syria, when
there were all manner of back channels by which the US could convey
concern over such strikes if it wanted to do so. In fact, as far as
Israel is aware, the report said, “the United States does not have
complaints about such Israeli activities.”
Israeli officials stressed that Israel was still not confirming responsibility for the strike last Wednesday.
Israel’s Channel 10 TV on Friday night quoted
Israeli officials branding the American leak as “scandalous.” For
Israel’s ally to act in such a way was “unthinkable,” the officials were
quoted as saying.
A second TV report, on Israel’s Channel 2,
said the leak “came directly from the White House,” and noted that “this
is not the first time” that the administration has compromised Israel
by leaking information on such Israeli Air Force raids on Syrian
targets.
It said some previous leaks were believed to
have come from the Pentagon, and that consideration had been given at
one point to establishing a panel to investigate the sources, but that
Thursday’s leak had come directly from the White House.
Channel 2′s military analyst, Roni Daniel, said the Obama administration’s behavior in leaking the information was unfathomable.
Daniel noted that by keeping silent on whether
it carried out such attacks, Israel was maintaining plausible
deniability, so that Syria’s President Bashar Assad did not feel
pressured to respond to the attacks.
But the US leaks “are pushing Assad closer to
the point where he can’t swallow these attacks, and will respond.” This
in turn would inevitably draw further Israeli action, Daniel posited,
and added bitterly: “Then perhaps the US will clap its hands because it
will have started a very major flare-up.”
Six coincidences? Six times that the US has disclosed that Israel is behind an attack? That's not negligence - it's purposeful. Barack Hussein Obama is our ENEMY, and we had better awaken to that reality before letting him or anyone in his administration know about a strike against Iran - before or after it happens.
Embarrassed? Heck no. They're proud of betraying one of their best allies, and they don't think we deserve an answer.
Here we go again: Syrian air base destroyed in missile attack from sea
Rebel sources are reporting that seaborne missiles have destroyed a Syrian airbase near Latakia. The IAF is being blamed. Israel has no comment.
According to reports emanating from the rebels seeking to oust Syrian
President Bashar Assad, a large explosion occurred near the army base in
Latakia on Wednesday night. Witness posted on Twitter that the
explosion happened near coastal city Jableh, 30 kilometers south of
Latakia, a stronghold of Assad's Alawites.
It is unclear who is behind the explosion or its purpose. There were no reports of casualties.
Members
of the Syrian and Lebanese media have charged that Israel is behind the
attack. Israel's defense establishment has not responded to the report.
Russia has sent an Ilyushin Il-76 passenger plane to Latakia, Syria to evacuate its own citizens as well as those of other CIS countries from Syria (Hat Tip: MFS - The Other News).
An airliner of the Emergency Situations' Ministry has arrived in Syria to pick up Russians wishing to leave the country.
"An Ilyushin Il-76 landed in Latakia and will collect from Syria both
citizens of Russia and CIS countries wishing to leave," official
spokesman for the ministry Irina Rossius told Interfax.
The plane is carrying a team of rescuers and psychologists who will help the passengers during the flight.
People wishing to leave Syria are at Latakia airport already. Their number is being finalized.
The Russians obviously expect a Western attack to happen. Are they right?
Did the IAF hit missiles being hidden in Homs? (With video)
The New York Times reported on Thursday that at least some of the Russian Yakhont missiles that Syria was hiding in Latakia were not in the warehouses when Israel allegedly struck them on July 5. This is from the first link.
While the warehouse was destroyed, American
intelligence analysts have now concluded that at least some of the
Yakhont missiles had been removed from their launchers and moved from
the warehouse before the attack.
The officials who described the new assessment declined to be identified
because they were discussing classified information.
...
After the Israeli attack, the Assad government sought to hide the fact
that the missiles had been missed by setting fire to launchers and
vehicles at the site to create the impression of a devastating blow,
according to American intelligence reports.
The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment. Israel has a
longstanding policy of silence on pre-emptive military strikes.
Another factor that could lead to a military response by Israel is the
continuing flow of weapons to the Assad government, some of which Israel
fears may make its way to Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon.
The Times also provided new information about the July 5 strike.
The July 5 attack near Latakia was the fourth known Israeli airstrike in Syria this year.
Providing new details, American officials said that it had been carried
out by Israeli aircraft that flew over the eastern Mediterranean, fired
air-to-ground missiles and never entered Syrian airspace. The route of
the Israeli aircraft led to some erroneous reports that the attack had
been carried out by an Israeli submarine.
About an hour and a half ago, there was a huge explosion in Homs, in central Syria, which was much larger than usual explosions there. 40 people were killed and 160 wounded.
Activists said the explosion, which appeared to be significantly
larger than most bombs used daily by either side in the two-year-old
Syrian conflict, ripped through the southeastern neighborhood of
al-Nozha.
The neighborhood is majority Alawite, the same sect as
President Bashar Assad. Sunni Muslim insurgents have targeted Alawite
areas, especially military positions, around the country with bombs and
mortars.
Let's go to the videotape.
Note that there were two large explosions - the first looked like a mushroom cloud and happened before the video started, while the second one was smaller and off to the right around the 0:19 mark.
Typically, when weapons are hit, you see a lot of secondary explosions. I didn't see any here, but then the video seems to be shot from an upper story of a building and not from way overhead like the IAF shoots videos.
The distance from Latakia to Homs is 176.9 kilometers.
I don't think the IAF did it this time. But whoever did it had an awful lot of explosives or hit a huge weapons depot, which probably belonged to Assad loyalists.
Syrian rebels claim defecting army general provided intel on Latakia
A Syrian rebel web site is reporting that a general who defected from the Syrian army provided Israel with intelligence information that led to the destruction of Syria's Yakhont land-to-sea missiles in Latakia.
According to the report on the
website Al-Hakika, which relies on Turkish sources, Malik al-Kurdi
served at the Syrian naval base in Latakia. Before he defected, Al-Kurdi
told the American navy attaché in Ankara, Turkey, that advanced
Russian-made Yakhont anti-ship missiles were delivered to the Syrian
army and that President Bashar Assad intended to transfer them to
Hezbollah.
In light of the information, which included
precise coordinates, the attack was set into motion. According to The
Sunday Times, the attack was carried out by Israeli Dolphin-class
submarines. The Lebanese television channel MTV reported that Israel
attacked the missile warehouses only after verifying that no Russian
military advisers were present.
Only the Israelis would have made sure that no Russians were present.
If this story is true, it shows that there is still intelligence cooperation between Israel and the US after all.
"The enemy knows the truth" & Israel won't comment either way under its policy of not publicly interfering in Syria: Hanegbi to @Galey_Zahal
— Dan Williams (@DanWilliams) July 14, 2013
What you see above is about as official a statement as you are likely to get from an Israeli government source on this.
But off the record, it's all-but-been confirmed that Israel targeted Syria's Yakhont land-to-sea missiles in the wee hours of Friday, July 5, and probably did so using submarines as I first reported here. This is from the first link.
Al-Arabiya reports Israel was behind the strike in Syria’s
Latakia last week, according to the U.S. sources who said the attack
was targeting a missile depot.
The sources, speaking on condition
of anonymity to the U.S. news network said the July 5 strike targeted
Russian-made Yakhont missiles in the Syrian coastal city, which
neighboring Israel believed pose a threat to its forces, says al-Arabiya.
The sources said the Israeli Air Force had carried out the strike.
Qassem Saadeddine, spokesman for the Free Syrian Army's Supreme Military Council, told Reuters last week, "it was not the FSA that targeted this; it is not an attack that was carried out by rebels.
"This attack was either by air raid or long-range missiles fired from boats in the Mediterranean," he said, adds al-Arabiya.
Today, Assad’s forces are stretched impossibly thin. Months ago came the first evidence, as regime troops found that whenever they quelled the uprising in one town, another town rose up. Assad didn’t have enough loyal hands to put the rebellion down everywhere once and for all. The presence of Iranian and Hezbollah troops was further proof that Assad was shorthanded. And now rebel forces are fighting for control of the borders with Turkey and Iraq, while the regime has moved troops from the Golan Heights border to defend Damascus. The mighty Syrian Army is nothing but a sectarian militia defending a shrinking territory.
As Tony Badran, a fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, has documented, the regime seems to be waging a campaign of sectarian cleansing in order to carve out a rump state along the Mediterranean coast, reflecting the geographical contours of the traditional Alawite heartland, with its capital in Latakia. The regime has lost the -hinterland and may be on the verge of losing Damascus, but it is still counting on survival. If Assad can’t have all of Syria, then he and his Russian and Iranian backers will console themselves with an Alawite state on the Mediterranean. The Obama administration should ensure that this doesn’t come to pass.
Read the whole thing. I'd be as happy as the next guy to see Bashar go (although I doubt I'm going to be any happier with his likely replacements), but it bears pointing out that one of the problems with countries like Syria, Iraq and Lebanon is that their 'national identities' are a fiction, and given the opportunity they will descend into ethnic tribalism. Is that the direction in which we are heading? Is an Alawite state in part of Syrian a trend setter? If it is, it may not be so bad for Israel. We'd have more enemies but they would be significantly smaller.
'Palestinians' flee Latakia, Obama and Clinton fiddle
The New York Times reports that 10,000 'Palestinians' have fled Latakia, while the Obama administration continues to 'lead from behind' (Hat Tip: Soccer Dad).
On Tuesday in Washington, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said it was more effective to forge international consensus against Mr. Assad — as well as intensify economic pressure through sanctions — than for the United States alone to lead the way.
“It’s not going to be any news if the United States says Assad needs to go,” Mrs. Clinton said at the National Defense University. “O.K., fine, what’s next? If Turkey says it, if King Abdullah says it, if other people say it, there is no way the Assad regime can ignore it.”
That's leading from behind alright. How does she suppose that an 'international consensus' is ever going to be forged if the US does not lead? She sounds totally Orwellian to me.
The refugee neighborhood, Raml, was set up after 1948, when Palestinians fled or were expelled from their homes during the fighting at the creation of Israel. It grew into one of the city’s largest neighborhoods, drawing poor job-seekers, but it still lacks some basic services. Demonstrations have erupted there and nearby since the country’s uprising began in March, and activists there insisted that the crackdown would fail to quell the spirit of dissent.
Well, no wonder there's a revolution in Syria. 63 years and still 'lacks some basic services'.... Oh never mind. It's the 'Palestinians.' Their fellow Arabs are like totally allowed to abuse them. That wouldn't cause an uprising in Syria, would it?
“We urge the Syrian authorities to stop the attack on the refugee camp immediately,” said Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas. “It is unacceptable, we cannot accept it,” he said.
What will they do about it? What they will find out is that unlike when the 'Palestinians' fight Israel, no one care about them when they fight anyone else (see Secretary of State Clinton's comments above).
Another senior Palestinian official, Yasser Abed Rabbo, has described the attack on Raml as “a crime against humanity.” Speaking on the official Voice of Palestine Radio on Tuesday, Mr. Abed Rabbo said that the Syrian government had “lost rationality.”
And what are they going to do about it? Go to the International Criminal Court? Oh wait - that would be a little hypocritical given the warmth with which Abu Mazen has greeted Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who was indicted by the same court. Well, a little hypocrisy never bothered the 'Palestinians,' did it? So I guess the ICC is still on the table.
So to where will the 'Palestinians' flee? So far, just within Syria. Will anyone in the West take them in? Don't hold your breaths.
Anyone still think the Arabs aren't a bunch of hypocrites? I didn't think so.
'Palestinian refugee camp' attacked in Latakia, Obama still won't call for Assad's overthrow
Arab countries and 'Palestinians' are furious after Syrian Naval forces shelled a 'Palestinian refugee camp' in the Syrian port of Latakia. But the United States says that it cannot confirm the shelling, and American President Barack Hussein Obama still will not call for Bashar al-Assad to step down.
Syria came under sharp Arab and international condemnation on Monday after activists said gunboats pounded Latakia port, forcing thousands of Palestinians to flee a refugee camp.
As activists reported new deaths at the camp, the Palestinians condemned Syria over the violence and the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) reported that more than 5,000 refugees had fled the Ramel camp in southern Latakia under fire.
The United States, however, said it was unable to confirm the reports of the Syrian navy shelling Latakia, in what would amount to an escalating bid to crush pro-democracy protests.
Palestine Liberation Organization secretary general Yasser Abed Rabbo said the attack on Ramel was "part of the crimes against humanity" targeting Palestinians and Syrians alike.
Jordan, adding its voice to a chorus of Arab condemnation of the Syrian crackdown on dissent, urged Damascus to "immediately" stop the violence and "listen to reason," state-run Petra news agency reported.
US President Barack Obama said his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad has lost his legitimacy and his people "will be better off without him," the White House spokesperson said.
Assad "has to cease the systematic violence, mass arrests, and the outright murder of his own people," Jay Carney told reporters.
"The Syrian people deserve a peaceful transition to democracy; they deserve a government that doesn’t torture them, arrest them and kill them."
I'm sure Assad is shaking in his Gucci loafers. I wonder which Arab country will take in the 'Palestinians.' I'm betting none of them will.
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
