Israel fires rockets at Syria after Golan Heights struck

Israel strikes the Syrian Golan Heights once again as a show of 'zero tolerance' towards attacks on Israeli 'sovereignty' over the occupied zone.
1 min read
09 November, 2016
Israel formally annexed the Golan Heights from Syria in 1981 [AFP]

Israel's army said Wednesday that it struck a Syrian army position after rockets from Syria hit territory it is occupying in the northern Golan Heights.

The action was a show that Israel "would not tolerate any attempt to touch the sovereignty of the State of Israel and the safety of the Israeli citizens," an army statement said.

"We consider the Syrian regime responsible for what is taking place within its territories," it added.

There are no reports of damage or casualties caused by the Syrian rocket fire.

Israel currently controls two thirds of the Golan Heights after occupying the area during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

The land was later formally annexed in 1981 - a move that has never been recognised by the international community.

Syria and Israel have been formally bound by a disengagement agreement signed in 1974, which seperates the two sides' areas of administration with a buffer zone.

While Israel has largely kept itself out of Syria's ongoing war, it has attacked Syrian military targets when fire fell on territory it is illegally occupying.

This is part of an Israeli policy that holds the Syrian government accountable for all fire from Syria, regardless of the source.