Israel Prepares Ground Invasion of Syria
Cites presence of ISIS and Hezbollah as pretext for possible invasion
Israeli Likud Minister Yuval Steinitz will
tell the United States, Russia and other world powers Israel will not
tolerate Iranian forces near its border, the Jerusalem Times reported on
Tuesday.
Steinitz made the remark as Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin
Netanyahu, flew to New York to address the United Nations General
Assembly on Thursday.
“In all of our discussions, first and foremost with the United
States, but also with Russia and the rest of the world powers, we must
make sure that the Iranian forces will stay in Iran,” Steinitz told
Israel’s Army Radio.
“Nobody wants to see Russian forces in the area of the Golan Heights,
but we definitely don’t want to see Iranian forces near Israel,” he
added.
‘Israel concerned with build-up of Iranian forces in Syria near Golan border’ http://t.co/OC77BQCppP— Israel News (@IsraelNewsNow) September 29, 2015Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria during the Six Day War in June, 1967. The territory was officially annexed in 1981.
Israel fired on Syrian forces in the Quneitra region over the weekend when errant mortar fire landed in the captured territory.
Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon
said on Monday Syria had crossed a “red line” in its battle with proxy
forces attempting to overthrow the government of Bashar al-Assad in
Syria.
“Israel does not intend to ignore these incidents. We see the Syrian
government as responsible for what happens in Syrian territory,” Yaalon
said.
Image Credits: Michael Shvadron, Israel Defense Forces, Wikimedia Commons.
