BICOM

Israel yesterday fired a warning shot into Syria, the first incident of Israeli fire across the Syrian border since the Yom Kippur War in 1973.

The Israeli army fired a single Tammuz-style rocket into Syria at the source of fire after a stray mortar had hit near the IDF outpost of Tel Azaka. Israeli army spokesman Yoav Mordechai was keen to make clear that the stray mortar was unintentionally fired into Israel “in the midst of Syrian infighting,” but stressed that the warning round “was a signal to the Syrians, that we will not be so forgiving of everything that lands in our territory.”

The errant mortar fire was the fifth occasion in the past two weeks that the internal fighting in Syria has spilled over into Israeli territory. The Israeli army believes that the incidents stem from Syrian army attempts to re-capture the village of Bir Ajam, which has reportedly been captured by Syrian opposition forces. Two weeks ago, three Syrian army tanks entered the village, which is situated in the demilitarized zone in the Golan Heights, violating the 1974 ceasefire agreement between Israel and Syria. A stray rocket fell near the Israeli community of Alonei Habashan last week while gunfire twice threatened Israeli army border patrol vehicles during the same period.

Although it is widely believed that Israel wishes to remain outside of the Syrian conflict, Israel’s Chief of Staff Benny Gantz last week warned, “this is a Syrian issue that could become our issue.” The Israeli army has recently reinforced the border fence on the Golan Heights due to apparent concern that terror cells could take up positions along the border where Syrian army control is eroding.