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Israel kept up its war footing against Syria last week after conducting its fourth airstrike against its neighbor in February alone, which resulted in the deaths of three Syrian troops, a report said.
SANA, the Syrian news outlet, reported, “The Israeli enemy carried out an air assault with several missiles” at about 1:10 a.m. on Thursday. Syria claimed that its air defense systems intercepted most of the missiles used in the attack.
The Trends Journal has reported on the recent strikes against Syria. (See “ISRAEL KEEPS LAUNCHING MISSILES INTO SYRIA. WILL WAR ESCALATE?” and “AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: ISRAEL’S TREATMENT OF PALESTINIANS AMOUNTS TO APARTHEID.”)
Israel sees proxy forces in Syria as an existential threat because it is supported by Iran, its major military threat. Despite the illegality of attacking the nation, Israel has admitted to launching hundreds of airstrikes into Syria that target Iranian troops, military targets and allied groups such as Hezbollah.
Russia supports President Bashar Assad’s government and put Tel Aviv in an awkward position last week when it invaded Ukraine.
Israel, which has a good relationship with Moscow, but whose main ally is the U.S., called the invasion a “serious violation of international order.”
Middle East Eye pointed out that Israel has been reluctant to say more.
Dmitry Polyanskiy, Moscow’s envoy to the UN, told a Security Council briefing on Wednesday that he was “concerned” over Tel Aviv’s plans “for expanding settlement activity in the occupied Golan Heights,” which he said “directly contradicts the provisions of the 1949 Geneva Convention.”
The report said Poyanskiy told the council that Russia does not recognize “Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights that are an inalienable part of Syria.”
Israel has insisted that the targets of these strikes are Iran-backed forces in Damascus and it has no interest in forcing a regime change. Russia has not spoken out against these strikes from Israel. There is some concern that the fight in Ukraine could impact Israel’s relationship with Moscow.
“We’re telegraphing ‘business as usual’ to the Russians,” a defense official told Israel’s Army Radio. “It’s important not to broadcast a misleading message.”
Moscow said its coordination with Tel Aviv in Syria will continue despite these comments.
“Our military officials discuss the practical issues of this substantively on a daily basis. This mechanism has proven to be useful and will continue to work,” the Russian embassy in Israel said in a statement, according to Reuters.
The conflict in Syria began in 2011 and resulted in about 500,000 deaths, The Associated Press reported. About half of the country’s population prior to the war has been displaced and there is a currency crisis. The report said today one U.S. dollar is worth about 3,600 Syrian pounds. Prior to the war, one dollar was worth 47 pounds.
TREND FORECAST: While the United States and NATO condemn Russia’s attack on Ukraine and its occupying a foreign nation, there is no U.S. NATO condemnation of Israel’s ongoing occupation and stealing of Palestine land which is in violation of international law and its occupation of the Golan Heights, which Israel seized from Syria in 1967’s Six-Day War.
And while the mainstream media has attacked Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, Israel is not, and will not, be criticized by the establishment political parties and the mainstream media. Indeed, anyone that does so is chastised as an “anti-Semite”.
TREND FORECAST: The Trends Journal has reported on the relationship between Israel and Syria. (See “ISRAEL CONDUCTS SERIES OF DEADLY AIRSTRIKES IN SYRIA,” “TERROR STRIKES SYRIA: ALL OUT WAR COMING?” and “ISRAEL KEEPS BOMBING SYRIA.”)
As we have forecast, with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett taking over from former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, considering who he is and what he stands for, we forecast it will be a continued escalation against Syria, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Iran.
And should war escalate in the Middle East, so too will oil prices, which will in turn dramatically increase inflation and damage economic growth.