Still plunged into a domestic political crisis, Israel launched strikes into Syrian territory in the early hours of Sunday in response to missile launches from that country, opening a new point of conflict. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted that the country is facing a complicated security situation on the same day the leaders of two terrorist organizations that see the Hebrew state as their greatest enemy met.
After launching six rockets into Israeli territory, the Tel Aviv army retaliated with drones and artillery, targeting a military complex and radar and artillery posts. Explosions were heard in Damascus and the Assad regime’s Defense Ministry reported that several munitions were launched from the Golan Heights, occupied by Israel, towards southern Syria.
According to Jerusalem PostIn a phone call with leaders of Gaza’s border communities, Netanyahu acknowledged that Israel is experiencing a complex security situation on several fronts, between the Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem and the West Bank, South Lebanon and Syria. While promising a strengthening of security systems in that region, Netanyahu assured that the last word on this crisis has not yet been spoken.
Still in words and speeches, the head of government had appealed to those in power during the Council of Ministers on Friday to show unity and determination, taking into account the recent criticism from ministers of the coalition’s far-right parties.
The call fell on deaf ears: Amichai Eliyahu, with Heritage’s portfolio, launched a new barb: “The senior officials of the defense apparatus are behaving as if they are in revolt.” His party leader, Itamar Ben Gvir, is the minister in charge of the police. Opposition leader Yair Lapid immediately said “the incitement against the security apparatus has gotten out of hand” and that Eliyahu proves the charges or he should be fired.
Before the new spiral of violence that began Wednesday with the police attack on Al-Aqsa Mosque, the government had 69% of unfavorable views and Netanyahu had 67%, according to a poll for Channel 12.
On the same TV channel, a senior official acknowledged that the police action at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem was wrong to beat the worshipers, but that he had no other choice because he had received information that hundreds of Palestinians had stockpiled weapons . instead of worship to be used against Israelites later on.
While Israel’s coalition government shows division, outside opponents converge to define “cooperation”. The leaders of the pro-Iranian Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, and the Palestinian Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, met in Lebanon and assured that “the resistance axis is ready”.
Source: DN
