ISRAEL PROVOKES DAMASCUS TO ESCALATE

Israel continues to launch attacks on Syria under the pretext of disturbing Iranian weapons shipments meant for Hezbollah in Lebanon. Late on September 6, a new Israeli aerial attack targeted the northern governorate of Aleppo. The attack was launched from the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, right off the coast of the city of Lattakia. Israeli fighter jets fired a number of stand-off munitions, which hit Aleppo International Airport. A military official told the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency that the attack inflicted heavy damage on the airport’s main runway, placing it out of service. No casualties were reported, however. The Syrian Ministry of Transportation announced that all flights meant to Aleppo airport will be moved to Damascus International Airport. The ministry didn’t specify when the airport could resume operations. Arab media said that the airport’s runway was not the only target of the Israeli attack. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and other Syrian pro-opposition news outlet claimed that warehouses where Iranian weapons were stored had also been hit. The Al Arabiya TV said that the attack came as a response to the resumption of Iranian aerial weapons shipments to Hezbollah via Syria. Exactly a week earlier, a large-scale Israeli attack targeted the international airports of Aleppo and Damascus. Both airports were placed out of service for several hours. Five Syrian service members were also wounded. The same claims about Iranian weapons shipments to Hezbollah were used to justify the attack. Israel and its allies are apparently increasingly worried of a possibly Syrian military response. After the attack on Aleppo International Airport, Israel placed its troops along the border with Syria on high-alert. Moreover, the US-led coalition placed its bases in Syria on high-alert. US troops in al-Tanf garrison in Syria’s southeastern region as well as in the Conoco gas plant base in the northeastern governorate of Deir Ezzor were reportedly oredered to prepare for a possible attack by Iranian-backed forces in Syria or Iraq. A recent report by the New York Times said that Damascus and its allies, who are known as the “Axis of Resistance,” have agreed to respond to Israel’s repeated attacks by targeting US bases in Syria. Israel has launched 23 large aerial attacks on Syria since the beginning of the year. At least four attacks targeted Damascus International Airport, while only two targeted the airport in Aleppo. Syria, who continues to face many security and economic challenges, has been refraining from responding to Israeli attacks in order to avoid a serious military escalation. This policy will not apparently change any time soon. Israel will likely continue to escalate its attacks on the war-torn country under the pretext of battling Iranian influence.