Israel Attacked A Syrian Military Facility Which Syria States Was A 'Declaration of War'

Syria: Attack on military facility was a 'declaration of war' by Israel

By Frederik Pleitgen and Sara Sidner, CNN

updated 11:05 AM EDT, Sun May 5, 2013

Damascus, Syria (CNN) -- A Syrian official called an attack Sunday on the nation's military research facility a "declaration of war" by Israel.

In an exclusive interview with CNN, Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al Mekdad said the attack represented an alliance between Islamic terrorists and Israel.

He added that Syria would retaliate against Israel in its own time and way.

READ MORE AT http://www.cnn.com   

THE ESCALATION BELOW...

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Israel strikes Syria, says targeting Hezbollah arms

1 of 2. A cloud of smoke is seen in the sky after an explosion at what Syrian state television reported was a military research centre in Damascus, in this still image taken from video obtained from a social media website by Reuters on May 5, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Social Media/Handout via Reuters TV

By Dominic Evans and Oliver Holmes

BEIRUT | Sun May 5, 2013 10:45am EDT

(Reuters) - Israeli jets bombed Syria on Sunday, rocking Damascus for hours and sending pillars of flame into the night sky in what a Western source called a new strike on Iranian missiles bound for Lebanon's Hezbollah.

Local people reported massive explosions and internet video showed the capital's skyline lit by flashes; Syrian opponents of President Bashar al-Assad rejoiced at Israel's third raid this year, and second in 48 hours, while anger in Tehran highlighted how Syria's civil war risks spinning further beyond its borders.

Israel, while declining to confirm the strike, stressed its focus was to deny its Lebanese foes new Iranian firepower and not take sides between Assad, long seen as a toothless adversary, and rebels who have won sympathy from Israel's Western allies but who also include al Qaeda Islamists hostile to the Jewish state.

It appears to calculate that Assad will not risk forces he needs to fight the rebels by attacking a much stronger Israel.

read more at http://www.reuters.com

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Israel Reportedly Attacks Syrian Facility, In An Escalation

BILL CHAPPELL and DANA FARRINGTON

May 05, 201310:50 AM

Israeli warplanes attacked a military research center near Damascus early Sunday, according to 
intelligence reports and Syrian state media. The attack prompted Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister 
Faisal al Mekdad to deem it a "declaration of war" by Israel, CNN reports.

The facility in question, in the Damascus suburb of Jamraya, was also targeted by Israel in January.

read more at http://www.npr.org

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Syria warns Israel after 'latest air raids'

Alleged attacks "open the door to all possibilities", Syria's information minister says, as Arab League  urges UN action. Last Modified: 05 May 2013 14:50 Syria's information minister has given warning that Israeli air raids against three targets on the outskirts of  Damascus "open the door to all possibilities". Omran al-Zoabi's comments in Damascus on Sunday came after an emergency cabinet meeting organised to  respond to what a Western source said was a new attack on Iranian missiles bound for Lebanon's Hezbollah. Although Zoabi did not hint at a concrete course of action, he said it was Syria's duty to protect the state from  any "domestic or foreign attack through all available means". He claimed the Israeli attacks are evidence of the country's links with "Islamic extremist groups" trying to the  Syrian government. Israel declined to confirm the attack so as not to pressure Syrian President Bashar al-Assad into serious  retaliation, according to a confidant of Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli prime minister. read more at http://www.aljazeera.com ............................................................. Israel confirms airstrike inside Syria Israeli officials say air force hit a shipment of 'game changing' weapons in Syria bound for  Hezbollah. Last Modified: 04 May 2013 10:31 Israeli officials have confirmed that the country's air force carried out a strike against Syria and  say it targeted a shipment of advanced missiles. The officials said on Saturday the shipment was not of chemical arms, but of "game changing"  weapons bound for the Lebanese Hezbollah group. They claimed, speaking on condition of anonymity, that the airstrike was early on Friday, but no  mention was made of where it took place. Following the strike, Defence Ministry strategist, Amos Gilad, said that Syrian President  Bashar al-Assad retains control of Syria's reputed chemical weapons and they are not sought  by his Hezbollah allies in Lebanon. "Syria has large amounts of chemical weaponry and missiles. Everything there is under (Assad  government) control," Gilad said in a speech. "Hezbollah does not have chemical weaponry. We have ways of knowing. They are not keen to  take weaponry like this, preferring systems that can cover all of the country (Israel)," he said. Earlier this week, Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said his group would assist Assad  if needed in the effort to put down a 2-year-old uprising. Israeli embassy spokesman Aaron Sagui would not comment on Friday night specifically on the  report of an Israeli strike into Syria. "What we can say is that Israel is determined to prevent the transfer of chemical weapons or  other game-changing weaponry by the Syrian regime to terrorists, specially to Hezbollah in  Lebanon," Sagui said in an email to the AP. The Syrian UN Ambassador, Bashar Ja'afari, told Reuters: "I'm not aware of any attack right  now." read more at http://www.aljazeera.com .................................................................. I HAD TO RANDOMLY ADD THIS PIC BECAUSE IT TOTALLY LOOKS LIKE THE NAZI REGIME.