Israeli military. Photo: IDF
Israel has threatened two senior officers of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) over alleged activities by Lebanon’s Hezbollah in the southern Syrian governorate of al-Quneitra.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) dropped leaflets over al-Quneitra late on August 12, a few hours only after a direct fire attack which targeted an observation post of the SAA near the town of al-Hmidaiah in the countryside of the governorate. Two civilians were wounded as a result of the Israeli attack.
The leaflets carried a threat to Major General Ibrahim Khalifa, the commander of the army’s 1st Corps, and Major General Ali Mahmoud, whose position in the army is not publicly known.
“To Major General Ibrahim Khalifa and Major General Ali Mahmoud!
Your continuing to provide Hezbollah with intelligence is a sign of your submission to Hezbollah’s support at the expense of the Syrian army and its service members!
Every intervention by Hezbollah, directly or indirectly, will result in severe measures!
That’s how it was and that’s how it will be!” the leaflets reads.
The leaflets, which were reportedly dropped from drones, bore the eagle insignia of the IDF’s 210th “Bashan” Division. The Bashan is a territorial division in the IDF Northern Command responsible for the front with Syria.
They also included a map that identifies the al-Hmidaiah observation post and the nearby Finance Building in the city of Baath as intelligence gathering positions for Hezbollah.
Click to see full-size image. Via Twitter.
The IDF dropped leaflets over the al-Quneitra on several occasions in the last few years. Some included threats in response to alleged Hezbollah activities in the region. However, others warned SAA troops against operating within the governorate’s UN-monitored buffer zone that was established under the 1974 separation of forces agreement.
Israel is apparently trying to establish indirect control over al-Quneitra’s buffer zone. Hezbollah’s alleged presence in the governorate is just an excuse to achieve this goal.
