The Mayor of the Druze town of Majdal Shams on the Golan Heights dismisses as 'a total joke' a UN assertion that Golan Druze suffer from the 'hardship' of 'Israeli occupation.'
Dulan abu-Saleh, the mayor of Majdal Shams, the largest Druze town in
the Golan, told the Makor Rishon newspaper that the U.N. Economic and
Social Council’s recent statement on the area was “a total joke,” the
daily reported Friday.
...
Abu-Saleh objected to the inclusion of his native area in the U.N.
panel’s statement earlier this month, which said that “economic and
social repercussions of the occupation on the living conditions of the
Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territories, including
East Jerusalem and the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan.”
“I don’t understand what they’re talking about, it’s laughable,”
abu-Saleh said. Druze in the Golan “don’t serve in the IDF and so far
are only receiving from the state.”
Referencing the war in Syria, he
said: “Why don’t they condemn the horrors in Syria, where dozens of
children are killed daily? Golan residents have a good life.”
He also said: “Although we weren’t included in some major cabinet
decisions on budgets, when we build and make up plans we never felt
discrimination. On the contrary, we always found an attentive ear.”
Prior to the eruption in 2011 of a civil war in Syria, only 1,700 of
the Golan’s Druze claimed Israeli citizenship offered to them. Hundreds
have applied since then.
And Abu-Saleh is not a lone voice.
Karim Batkhish, a resident of the town of Masaada, is quoted as saying:
“The war in Syria is irrelevant to us. Some may say they support [Syrian
President Bashar] Assad but it’s a lie to show Syria we’re with them.
They’re lying, no one wants to see Syria here.”
That kind of matches the 'Palestinian' experience under 'occupation' in Jerusalem, doesn't it?
A resident of the Druze town of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights was
shot in a suspected terrorist attack as he stood near to the border
with Syria Saturday.
The 19-year-old man, said he clearly heard a gun fire before being
hit in the foot by a bullet, apparently fired from the Syrian side of
the border.
The victim was admitted to hospital in light-to-moderate condition.
The IDF and local police have launched an investigation into the
incident, saying that at this point they are unaware of any unusual
incidents along the northern border.
It may be a terrorist attack, but no one seems to be saying (or maybe even to know) which side did it. Hmmm.
There's finally some good news from Syria. This is from a Senate confirmation hearing.
Robert Danin, also a Middle East fellow at the CFR, added, "The administration wanted to give the Assad regime an out, but it didn't comply. So I think the position has changed, and the administration has come to a place where it says 'This regime has no future and there's nothing that can be done with it.' But I think it tried to give the Syrian regime an out, largely because our own tools are very limited ... The only thing the administration hasn't done is actually call for Assad to go, but I don't think that option is so important at this point. What's important now is what we do rather than which word formulation we use."
Danin also referred to the Palestinian Authority's unilateral statehood bid September in the UN, and the potential for Syrian-supported protests on Israel's borders. Palestinians living in Syria marched on Israel's borders in May and June to mark Arab losses in the 1948 and 1967 wars. "It seems the choice to deploy Palestinian refugees to the border actually proved counterproductive and backfired. They did it twice, both on Nakba Day and Naksa Day, and there was a backlash within Syria," he said from Washington. "People were angry, saying, 'Why did you send us to our deaths, unarmed and without protection?' So we've seen the Syrian government back off from that tactic. But with this regime one can't rely on it to act in its own best interests or wisely. I wouldn't expect something similar in September, but this regime could miscalculate and do something really stupid."
Assad may not send his own people to be canon fodder and try to jump Syria's border with Israel in September. That's certainly good news, although obviously we still have to anticipate the worst.
This is the first live post since the holiday ended, and I want to remind you all that I am online because in Israel we only have one day of holiday, and not two like in the rest of the World.
The Syrian newspaper Tishreen is reporting that the 'Naqsa day' attempts to breach Syria's borders with Israel are 'just the start' of efforts that will include bringing hundreds of thousands of Syrians to attempt to breach the border with the 'Zionist entity.'
According to the article, Israel should be ready for more than 600,000 refugees to march across the border, ostensibly to return to their homes in the Golan. "The Palestinian refugees who gathered at the border were part of a mass march of progress for the right of return," the article said.
...
Another article in the same paper claimed that Israel should know that mass marches are approaching, and does not have grounds for deterrence. "Israel can not even use the pretext of self-defense, for what it calls its borders," the article says.
Actually, under international law, Israel can defend its borders, even if they are not recognized as such by the 'international community.'
The question is whether a state can forcibly protect land that it peacefully possesses even if it lacks sovereignty over the land. The answer is yes. The classic recent example is the Ethiopian-Eritrean war of 1998. According to the arbitral rulings, the chief disputed territory (Badme) was sovereign territory of Eritrea, but it was possessed by Ethiopia both before and after the war. Eritrea initiated hostilities to recover Badme. The arbitrator ruled that Eritrea had violated international law by using force against the Ethiopia in the territory because Ethiopia was in peaceful possession of the territory before the war, even though Ethiopia never had sovereignty.
There is a cease-fire agreement between Syria and Israel from 1974 and it establishes the lines where Israel and Syria have control.
Sorry it took me so long to get back online. I landed about six hours ago, and have been busy ever since with unpacking and things like that.
Syrian opposition groups say that Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad paid 'protesters' $1,000 each to 'protest' at Israel's borders. To put that in perspective, the average Syrian earned $242 per month in 2009. So Assad was offering more than four months' salary (Hat Tip: Memeorandum).
Demonstrators along the Syria-Israel border were paid thousands of dollars by President Bashar Assad's regime to take part in Sunday's riots, Syrian opposition activists charge.
Israeli officials later reinforced the claims, accusing the Syrian regime of encouraging protests along the northern border.
...
Washington-based members of the Reform Party of Syria said intelligence sources close to the Syrian government in Lebanon informed them that the protesters on the Syrian side of the Druze community of Majdal Shams were in fact poverty-stricken farmers paid by the Assad regime.
According to the sources, the farmers migrated over the last few years from drought-stricken northeast Syria to the south. They reached the Israel-Syria border on Sunday in the aims of reenact "Nakba Day" events, the sources said.
The Syrian opposition group claimed that each farmer was promised $1,000 for showing up at the rally and $10,000 to their families if they are killed by IDF fire.
According to the report, the average salary of a Syrian citizen is about $200 per month, meaning that participation in Sunday's demonstration could provide a protester and his family with five months worth of financial relief.
...
Opposition activists noted that such tactics were previously used by Iraqi tyrant Saddam Hussein when the Ba'ath Party leader offered a $25,000 reward to the families of Palestinians who died while hurling stones at Israelis during the Intifada.
...
The opposition group stressed that while it believes that the Golan Heights belong to Syria, it wishes to return the land through peaceful negotiations.
"If Assad really wanted the Golan Heights, he would walk the same peaceful path Anwar Sadat walked long before him," the group said in a statement.
The most interesting thing about this is that the source of the story is the Syrian opposition. Maybe they're hoping that Israel will help them out. Hmmm.
By the way, Israel Radio reports this morning that the Golan Heights is a closed military zone and that only residents are being allowed to enter. if that continues, it will kill the tourist trade here this summer.
This is video of the Syrian breach of the border with Israel on Sunday. The video was obviously taken from the Israeli side of the border.
What's missing in this video is the IDF. Where are they? Why weren't they there? We're way into this video before we see what looks like IDF troops (I think I see them coming from the right around the 7:30 mark). Where were they? Heads ought to roll for this.
This video also puts the lie to the claim that 'only' 150 Syrians breached the border. It looks like a lot more than that.
Let's go to the videotape.
There are also dozens of pictures of the rally in Majdal Shams, which can be found here.
Arab commentators agree: Assad behind Naqba day events
Arab commentators agree that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was behind Sunday's events at Majdal Shams on the Syrian border.
The Syrian government "made use" of Sunday's rallies to "divert attention from... the Syrian uprising which has been the main event in Syria for months," said Burhan Ghalioun, director of the Centre for Contemporary Eastern Studies.
...
Sunday's protesters -- most of them Palestinian refugees living in Syria -- would have never made it across the armistice line without a nod of approval from President Bashar al-Assad's embattled regime, analysts said.
"Neither the Syrians nor the Palestinians in Syria can move alone. Syrian security services use people as tools. They inspire, organise and point out" to people what to do, said Ghalioun.
"If the Syrian regime was in a different situation, it would have not allowed the protesters to enter through the Golan," he said.
What happened Sunday "fell right within the regime's will."
Paul Salem, director of the Carnegie Middle East Centre in Beirut, agreed that the protesters could not have done it without the regime's support.
This is risk free for Assad. Israel isn't going to start a war over an invasion that looks mostly like civilians. Assad gets his crackdown out of the headlines for a day or so. And if someone happens to steal his way in long enough to bring back some intelligence, all the better.
Earlier on Tuesday, I saw a tweet that claimed that Haaretz had reported that the decision to try to jump the Syrian border fence on Sunday was 'spontaneous.' When I went to Haaretz to check it out (having lost the original tweet), I found a far different story. It seems that the IDF had intelligence that something was up and ignored it.
Sources in the Northern Command confirmed the existence of intelligence indicating that Nakba Day demonstrators planned to try to cross the border near the "Shouting Hill," across from Majdal Shams. However, they said, the IDF had based its deployment on past experience, and expected the Syrian army to prevent the demonstrators from breaching the border.
The IDF's initial investigation of the Nakba Day incidents, carried out Sunday night and yesterday, determined that the reserve battalion stationed in the Majdal Shams sector did not have the backup forces necessary to respond to a mass border crossing attempt. In addition, they lacked sufficient crowd control equipment to disperse such demonstrations.
Such equipment is routinely provided to IDF troops in the West Bank.
The army officially acknowledges that 137 people crossed the border, all of whom were either returned to Syria or arrested. But IDF sources say the true number is probably closer to 150, and that some individuals apparently evaded the police roadblocks around Majdal Shams and traveled further into Israel.
So much for keeping all the Syrian 'naqba' protesters in Majdal Shams and then sending them back to Syria. At least one of them made it all the way to Tel Aviv.
The infiltrator, Hassan Hijazi, 28, was interviewed by Channel 10 news, and then gave himself up, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.
Hijazi said he hitched a ride with "peace activists" from Majdal Shams. He told Channel 10 that the Lebanese terror organization Hezbollah pressured the Assad regime in Syria to allow the demonstration, and called for a military conquest of Israel by Arab armies.
"This isn't Israel, it's Palestine. This country must not be Jewish," he told Hebrew media, before being arrested by a policeman for illegal entry into Israel.
An additional two Syrians were arrested in Majdal Shams during house-to-house searches throughout the day on Monday, Rosenfeld said.
Earlier, a Syrian-Palestinian infiltrator who was a passenger in a taxi driven by a Palestinian man from east Jerusalem was arrested along with the driver.
So that's four we have caught. I wonder how much they managed to learn during their time in Israel. Too bad the 'peace activists' are unlikely to be caught.
Some of you may recall the following from Sunday's briefing with Lt. Col. Avital Leibovitch.
They believe they have intelligence to know if anyone from Syria stays in Majdal Shams or tries to enter Israel. She did not get into specifics.
I admit it. That was my question at the briefing. This morning, we have at least a partial answer. Israel Radio reported on its 9:00 am newscast that the IDF caught an 'east' Jerusalem resident driving a Syrian who had hidden in Majdal Shams out of the city. Additionally, Israel Radio reported that the IDF is going house to house in Majdal Shams to search for anyone who might have stayed behind.
Some of you who follow me on Twitter may have seen me retweet a tweet by David Hazony that said that some of the Syrians may have been defectors.
"I'm tired of living in Syria, we'd rather die than see more bloodshed," one of the Syrian infiltrators into Majdal Shams told Ynet earlier. He called on Israel to grant him asylum, adding: "We've crossed the border in order to stay with our families, away from all the killing in Syria. We ask the powers at be in Israel to help us stay and not send us back."
Other infiltrators told Ynet that "we come in peace," adding that they had decided to cross the border in the aims of living in the Golan Heights – "even if it means risking our lives." Still, others declared "we are here to liberate the Syrian Palestinian land. These people are Palestinian freeman, Allah willing, the Palestinian groups will not give up."
Some of those expressing a wish to remain on the Israeli side of the border, said the uprising against Syrian President Assad is proving more and more dangerous and that many Palestinians now fear for their lives.
And I'm sure Assad would be happy to let them go, which is why the IDF has to be really careful about this.
Israel Radio reports at 6:00 pm that Israel has returned 10 bodies to Syria.
Some Syrian wounded may be treated in Israel.
The IDF is searching for those who did not return to Syria from Majdal Shams.
In Lebanon, 6 dead and 71 wounded in Maroun Aras.
After the 6:00 pm news we got reactions from Prime Minister Netanyahu, who has ordered the IDF to calm things down as quickly as possible.
Prime Minister Netanyahu says we are determined to defend our borders and our ownership. Important to note that this day is meant to mark the establishment of the State of Israel. The fight isn't over the 1967 borders, but over the very existence of Israel, which they call a catastrophe. It's important to know with whom and what we are contending.
Hopefully, Netanyahu will remember that when he speaks in Washington next week, and tell the Congress and President Obama that this is not about the 1967 borders, but about Israel's very existence.
Finally, Israel Radio is reporting that all the Syrian infiltrators left and the Syrian buses returned them home.
The border fence will be repaired - it was broken open in two places. The IDF is fixing it now.
Breaking: 'Palestinians' from Syria invade Israel, tens wounded; UPDATED
At Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights, hundreds of 'Palestinians' from 'refugee camps' in Syria crossed the border into Israel. Tens have been injured in firefights with the IDF and there are apparently some (at least one) dead. The area is a closed military zone, and Magen David Adom has announced a multi-casualty incident.
In Lebanon, the Lebanese Armed Forces shot in the air to stop 'Palestinian refugees' from crossing into Israel from a rally across the border from Avivim in Ras Amoun.
'Palestinians' claim 45 people where hurt in a march to the Erez crossing point between Gaza and Israel (which has been closed for months).
A couple of lesser incidents in and around Jerusalem.
More to follow.
UPDATE 2:07 PM
Israel Radio is interviewing an Arab reporter who says over 1,000 people crossed the border from Syria into Israel. The IDF is firing on them. The reporter claims that the infiltrators have not fired back, although we have already heard otherwise.
UPDATE 2:09 PM
Israel Radio reports injuries on both sides of the border and multiple dead. Even police and Magen David Adom ambulances are not allowed into the area without IDF permission. It's a closed military (battle) zone. There are people dead on both sides of the border. There are tens of ambulances in the area.
Israel Radio also has its (Jewish) Arab affairs correspondent in Majdal Shams, who says that there are 'Palestinian' flags and pro-'Palestinian' demonstrations in Majdal Shams. He's also reporting multiple dead and says that the Druze residents of Majdal Shams are in shock.
Local resident asks the reporter where the police and the army are. Local residents confirm the infiltrators are 'Palestinian refugees' from Syria. No Druze from Syria crossed the border.
UPDATE 2:19 PM
Israel Radio's Arab affairs correspondent interviews some of the infiltrators. They say there are 3,000 of them who have crossed into Israel. They're from 'Palestinian refugee camps' in Syria. They're trying to rise up the residents of Majdal Shams. They are exhausted - apparently they walked all the way there from the Damascus area which is 40-50 miles away. The IDF and the police are nowhere to be seen.
Our 'intelligence' services apparently decided that the Syrian army would not let these people approach and cross the border, but the Syrian army was apparently happy for the distraction from what's been going on in Syria.
Most of the Syrian wounded are still on the Syrian side of the fence. The one dead Syrian ('Palestinian') is on the Israeli side. Three Israelis have also been wounded - no word if they are IDF or civilians.
UPDATE 2:27 PM
Carmlea Menashe, Israel Radio's military correspondent, reports that infiltrators include human shields (children and the elderly). IDF Spokesman has thus far had no comment.
UPDATE 2:29 PM
Al-Jazeera reports hundreds in Ras Maroun in Lebanon and that IDF has moved two tanks close to the border.
UPDATE 2:34 PM
'Hundreds' of 'Palestinians' now demonstrating in 'Tahrir Square' in Majdal Shams.
UPDATE 2:38 PM
'Palestinians' from Syria say they no longer fear Israel.
IDF had prepared for demonstrations on borders, not for attempts to cross borders. The 'Palestinians' are claiming that they have 'returned.'
I hope that the IDF has at least secured the border with Lebanon.
There is no real connection between the 'Palestinians' from Syria and the Druze of Majdal Shams. The only connection between them is an attachment to Syria.
Arab affairs correspondent Yoni Ben Menachem says that no one knows how this happened. But the Syrians clearly allowed this (after 40 years of quiet) in a bid to distract attention from what's going on in Syria itself.
UPDATE 2:42 PM
IDF is reacting defensively. They're not expected to cross the border into Syria. Al-Jazeera reporting (according to Israel Radio) said that all morning al-Jazeera was reporting about the Syrian uprising and now that's been pushed to the side by this story.
UPDATE 2:46 PM
Israel Radio correspondent in Arabic Muneed Fares says four Syrians have been killed.
Ambulances trying to reach Wadi where action taking place, but IDF not letting them through nor are they letting more 'Palestinians' through who are trying to reach Majdal Shams.
UPDATE 2:48 PM
IDF says it will not under any circumstances allow 'Palestinian' demonstrations (which are all over the place) to cross the green line (1949 armistice line).
Tanks fired on 'Palestinians' attempting to infiltrate the Erez crossing. There are also demonstrations around Jerusalem and in Hebron.
UPDATE 2:50 PM
One dead and 10-15 wounded when IDF fired on demonstrators who tried to cross the border from Lebanon into Israel in the area of Ras Amoun. IDF fired from within Israel.
IDF shooting also at the Erez crossing from Gaza and there are 'tens' of wounded (50-60) according to 'Palestinian' sources.
UPDATE 2:52 PM
Two dead and 15 wounded in Ras Amoun. By the way, this is from Arab sources according to Israel Radio - IDF has not confirmed that it opened fire.
Syrian border incident was particularly unexpected.
UPDATE 2:54 PM
IDF preparing for this for months. Not good.
IDF spokesman confirms that there is an 'event' in Avivim (the border with Ras Amoun). Hundreds of people reached the border fence and Lebanese Armed Forces could not stop them. IDF opened fire. There are injuries - we don't know how many yet.
IDF spokesman says a few thousand reached the Syrian border fence and destroyed the fence. They are now in Majdal Shams. Here also IDF opened fire and is aware of wounded - maybe some tens. Don't know yet how many killed. IDF forces still preventing hundreds more from entering.
A number of commanders in Golan were lightly wounded and still in the area and fighting.
Israel Police in the area now along with the IDF according to IDF spokesman.
IDF forces are along the fence and preventing people from entering Israel.
How did this happen? IDF spokesman says it's too soon to say.
UPDATE 2:59 PM
Officially four dead and 15 wounded on Lebanese border.
UPDATE 3:00 PM
IDF allowing 'Palestinian' demonstration in Majdal Shams to continue. They are carrying names of 'refugee camps' in Syria.
No wounded have reached Israeli hospitals yet. Israeli residents of northern border areas asked to stay in their homes with their children.
IDF accuses Iran of being behind what's going on in the north.
Security forces accuse Syrian army of allowing 'Palestinians' to reach the border.
50 'Palestinians' wounded at Erez on Gaza and 20 in Kalandia on the outskirts of Jerusalem.
Man killed earlier in Tel Aviv a 29-year old from Givatayim.
UPDATE 3:24 PM
Here's some video from al-Jazeera Arabic. The left side looks like the Lebanese border - I can't tell you what the right side is.
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
