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Arab News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Syria condemns ‘blatant violation' of sovereignty after Israeli incursion
DAMASCUS: Syria's Interior Ministry condemned an Israeli incursion in southern Syria, saying Israeli forces killed one person and abducted seven others, calling it a 'blatant violation' of the country's sovereignty. 'We affirm that these repeated provocations constitute a blatant violation of the sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic,' the ministry said in a statement, adding that 'these practices cannot lead the region to stability and will only result in further tension and turmoil.' The Israeli military said those detained during the pre-dawn raid on Beit Jin were suspected of planning attacks against Israel, and that weapons also were found in the area. They were taken back to Israel for questioning, the military said. One person was killed and seven captured in the operation, Syria's Interior Ministry said, while the father of the young man killed said he had a history of mental illness. Since the fall of President Bashar Assad's government in early December, Israeli forces have moved into several areas in southern Syria and conducted hundreds of airstrikes throughout the country, destroying much of the assets of the Syrian army. Local broadcaster Syria TV described Thursday's raid as being carried out by about 100 Israeli troops who stormed Beit Jin, near the border with Lebanon, and called out the names of several people targeted for arrest through loudspeakers. Syria's Interior Ministry said such incursions spike tensions in the region. 'Such repeated provocative acts are a flagrant violation of Syria's sovereignty,' the ministry said in a statement. Village official Walid Okasha said that Israeli troops had entered the outskirts of Beit Jin in recent months, but that this was the first time they entered the center of the village. He added that Thursday's operation came four days after an Israeli drone strike hit a car in the village, inflicting casualties. 'They came targeting specific people,' said Okasha, who denied that Hamas members were in the village. He said the seven people taken to Israel were all Syrians and that two of them were members of the country's new security forces. He said the man who was killed suffered from mental illness. Ahmad Hammadi identified the victim as his son and told the AP that he had a history of schizophrenia. He said his son was shot dead in front of his home, and that he had no links to Hamas. He said two of the captured men were his nephews. Hussein Safadi said his two sons, Ahmad, 32, and Mohammed, 34, were captured, adding that his younger son, who raises goats, had lived in Lebanon for years until recently. He said his younger son was a member of the armed opposition against Assad and recently joined the security forces of the new authorities. As for why Israeli forces seized his sons, 'we don't know the reasons,' Safadi said. During a visit to France last month, Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa said that his country is holding indirect talks with Israel to prevent hostilities from getting out of control.
The National
2 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Syria says Israeli raid captured civilians, not Hamas fighters
Syria on Thursday said the people detained by Israeli forces during an overnight raid in a southern Syrian town were civilians, rejecting Israel's claims that they were members of Hamas. 'The detainees are civilians, they're not fighters,' a Syrian Interior Ministry representative told The National. About 100 Israeli soldiers in 10 vehicles stormed the town of Beit Jinn, 50 kilometres south-west of Damascus, broadcaster Syria TV reported. The Israeli troops killed one person during the raid, the channel added. The Israeli military said its operation in Beit Jinn was 'based on intelligence gathered in recent weeks' and led to the arrest of 'several Hamas terrorists' who were allegedly plotting 'multiple terror attacks' against Israel and its military. It said the detainees were transferred to Israel for questioning. The detainees were not identified and it was not immediately possible to independently verify whether they were affiliated with the Palestinian militant group. Hamas has yet to comment. The raid comes as Israel has stepped up operations in southern Syria following weeks of relative calm. Israel launched waves of air strikes across Syria after rebel groups toppled the Bashar Al Assad regime in early December, destroying large parts of the Syrian army's weapons stockpile and seizing territory in the south. Israel has expressed distrust towards Syria's new authorities, led by President Ahmad Al Shara, a former Al Qaeda commander-turned-statesman, who has pledged to govern the fractured country inclusively and unify all of Syria's armed groups under a single command structure. Mr Al Shara's government has adopted a pragmatic approach towards Israel, with the President revealing during a visit to France last month that his country was engaged in indirect talks with the Israelis. But tensions flared again in early June after projectiles were fired from southern Syria into Israeli territory. Israel retaliated with air strikes on June 8 – the first in nearly month –which it said killed a Hamas member on the outskirts of Beit Jinn.
