Syria slams Israel deadly attacks in Golan Heights

Syria slams Israel deadly attacks in Golan Heights
Tue Jun 24, 2014 08:27:43

Syria condemns Israel’s deadly attacks on its military targets from the air and the ground as a “blatant violation” of its territory, urging the United Nations to condemn the aggression.

Syria’s Foreign Ministry made the remarks on Monday in two identical letters addressed to the United Nations secretary-general and president of the UN Security Council.

"This aggression comes in the framework of direct support the Israeli enemy is providing for the armed terrorist groups," the ministry said.

The Israeli aircraft targeted the Syrian army positions, while its tanks hit government targets in the Golan Heights region on Sunday and Monday.

"Israel carried out a new aggression on sites inside the Syrian territories on Sunday and Monday, when they fired tank shells, mortar shells, rockets at posts of Syrian law enforcement forces...," the ministry said in the letters.

The ministry also said that Israel’s acts of aggression "threaten the peace and security in the region and the world as a whole," calling on the UN Security Council to shoulder its responsibility towards the "dangerous" Israeli acts.

Reports say that the Israeli attacks happened hours after the death of an Israeli teenager in the area. Israeli forces said the death was apparently caused by a mortar shell fired from Syria.

This comes as al-Qaeda-linked militants are fighting the Syrian government forces and mortar rounds fired by them have hit the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on several occasions.

Syria has been gripped by deadly violence since March 2011. Over 160,000 people have reportedly been killed and millions displaced due to the violence fueled by the foreign-backed Takfiri terrorists.

According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies -- especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey -- are supporting the Takfiris fighting the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The Golan Heights has been under Israeli occupation since the 1960s.

The Israeli regime captured the Golan Heights during the Six-Day War of 1967, when it also took control of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

It annexed the Golan Heights in 1981, although the move was never recognized by the international community and was a violation of international law.

The UN Security Council has rejected the de facto annexation in Resolution 497. The UN also regards the Golan Heights as an occupied territory.

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