IDF Destroyed Firing Post inside Syria, Warns UN of Escalation

March 24, 2013 By Yori Yanover The Jewish Press http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/idf-destroyed-firing-post-inside-syria-warnsun-of-escalation/2013/03/24/

Border tensions continued Sunday morning, following attacks by a Syrian military position directed at Israeli territory in Tel-Fars, in the southern Golan Heights. An IDF force spotted the source of the fire returned fire, destroying the position. There were no reported injuries on the Israeli side. Israel used the Tamuz, a surface to surface guided missile to hit the target. Saturday night there was fire from the same post at an Israeli jeep, but the Northern Command estimated that it was not intended against IDF forces. This morning, when the fire was repeated, the IDF decided to return fire. According to a detailed report delivered to the UN headquarters by the UNDOF forces monitoring the Syrian-Israeli border, eight IDF troops had been seen entering on foot into the southern Golan demilitarized zone at the end of last January. A few weeks later, in mid-February, dozens of IDF soldiers were observed penetrating into Syria The reports also cites several IDF aircraft penetrating into Syria over the same time period.

The same report also blames Syrian military forces for operating inside the demilitarized zone, in violation of the ceasefire agreement, in its war against the rebels. The report states that the Syrian army has been moving equipment and weapons into the zone. "This is a blatant violation of the agreement," states the report, which also cites a reported Syrian gunfire at Israeli territory: a shell landed inside Israel in late February but failed to explode. The report says that the IDF has warned in a letter to the UN Security Council that "if the [shelling] event is not handled, the situation could escalate." Last Wednesday, the UN forces decided to stop patrolling the border, for fear of a repeat of the kidnapping of 21 UN soldiers from the Philippines.