Syria says can respond to Israeli actions via Golan

Omran al-Zoubi, Syrian information minister: Israel must understand it can't take a promenade in the Syrian sky.

By JPOST.COM STAFF, REUTERS
Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi (photo credit: REUTERS/SANA)
Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi
(photo credit: REUTERS/SANA)
Syria warned that it had the right to act as it wants in the Golan Heights, and declared itself as the owner of the land, Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi was reported as saying Monday by Syrian news agency Sana.
Zoubi, addressing a  symposium in Damascus Sunday, reportedly blamed Israel for violating international law when it allegedly struck military sites Damascus earlier in May, and for permitting rebels to kidnap UN peacekeepers while operating inside the demilitarized zone on the Golan Heights.
"Syria has the right at this time and at any other time to deal with the Golan issue in the way the owner has the right to deal with his property, because the Golan is and has always been a Syrian Arab land," Sana quoted Zoubi as saying.
"Israel must understand that it can't take a promenade in the Syrian sky because the Syrian land and sky are not a promenade for anyone," he continued.
Zoubi added that they Syrian people "don't forget to respond to an aggression against the aggressors, nor do we forget our martyrs and those who killed them."
Following alleged Israeli air strikes near Damascus over the weekend, Syrian authorities had considered allowing Palestinian armed groups to launch attacks against Israel across the Golan Heights border, Syrian daily Al Watan reported last Monday.
Khalid Abd al-Majid, secretary-general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC), said in light of recent events, Syria had the “right and duty to respond using all available means”.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said last Thursday his forces would support any Syrian effort to recapture the Israeli Golan Heights, days after Israel reportedly launched raids in Syria believed to have targeted weapons destined for the Lebanese militant group.
Nasrallah also said Syria would provide his group with sophisticated weapons, hinting that such arms could change the balance of power between Israel and the Lebanese guerrilla group.
Following Nasrallah's comments, the PFLP-GC said it was preparing for new operations after nearly 40 years of quiet on the Israel-Syria border, and was forming combat units to try to recapture Israeli-occupied territory, in particular the Golan Heights
Ariel Ben Solomon contributed to this report.