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Israel fires back at Syria after gunshots at its troops


Israeli soldiers walk together during a training close to the ceasefire line between Israel
and Syria on the Israeli occupied Golan Heights May 7, 2013. REUTERS/Baz Ratner

JERUSALEM | Tue May 21, 2013 12:08pm EDT

(Reuters) - Israeli troops shot at a target across the Syrian frontier on Tuesday in response to gunfire that struck its forces in the Golan Heights, the Israeli military said.

A statement said a military vehicle was damaged by shots fired from Syria but that there were no injuries. It said that soldiers "returned precise fire".

Gunfire incidents across the frontier from Syria have recurred in past months during an escalating a civil war there in which rebels have sought to topple President Bashar al-Assad. Israel's Army Radio said Tuesday's was the third consecutive cross-border shooting this week.

The Israeli military added in its statement that it viewed these incidents "with concern".

Israel captured the Golan territory from Syria in a 1967 war and later annexed the area. Negotiations aimed at resolving that conflict ran aground in 2000.

Israel has not taken sides in Syria's internal conflict, but has been worried about the involvement of its Iranian-backed foe, Hezbollah, in the fighting.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held out the prospect on Sunday of Israeli strikes inside Syria to stop Hezbollah and other opponents of Israel getting advanced weapons.

Netanyahu said Israel was "preparing for every scenario" in Syria. He added "we will act to ensure the security interest of Israel's citizens in the future as well".

Israel has neither denied nor confirmed reports it attacked Iranian-supplied missiles stored near Damascus this month that it believed were waiting delivery to Hezbollah, which fought a war with Israel in 2006 and is allied with Assad.

(Writing by Allyn Fisher-Ilan; Editing by Alison Williams)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/21/us-syria-crisis-israel-idUSBRE94K08C20130521

"There is a broad consensus in Israel, encompassing both the Likud and the Labour parties, which places national security above peace with the country's Arab neighbours. This consensus militates against making concessions for the sake of peace that are liable to undermine Israel's security. No similar consensus, however,exists regarding peace agreements that do not appear to detract from Israel's security. To be more precise, there is no consensus on whether or not Israel should be prepared to trade the territories it captured in June 1967 for peace with her neighbours.

Here lies the most fundamental difference between the foreign policy outlook of the Likud and that of the Labour Party. Likud is committed to the ideology of Greater Israel which claims the West Bank - Judea and Samaria in its terminology - as an integral and inalienable part of the Land of Israel. Labour is a pragmatic party which places security above all other values. For Likud, the Land of Israel is sacred; for Labour Israel's security is sacred. Likud's approach to the occupied territories is governed primarily by ideological imperatives; Labour's approach is governed primarily by security considerations. To say this is not to suggest that Likud is indifferent to security or that Labour is untouched by the ideal of Greater Israel but simply to point to the different emphases that colour the world view of these two parties."

Syria claims the Israeli vehicle was inside it's territory ..

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria said its troops destroyed an Israeli vehicle that crossed into its territory from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Tuesday and warned that any attempt to violate its sovereignty would meet "immediate and firm retaliation".

Israel said the incident took place on its side of the Golan ceasefire line, that the vehicle was damaged but not destroyed, none of its soldiers were hurt and they returned fire.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/world/17274063/syria-israel-exchange-fire-on-golan-heights/