Israel masters spin war after Golan attack

Israeli attacks should always be condemned, regardless of the target. So we should denounce Sunday's airstrike in the Golan Heights, even if it struck Hizballah and Iranian fighters who are waging war on the Syrian people.

A principled position on condemning all of Israel's crimes should not be affected by the crimes committed by Iran, Hizballah and the regime of Bashar al-Assad in suppressing the Syrian revolution.

We cannot adjoin the proverb "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" to these killings.

Despite being attacked by their "mortal enemy", Hizballah and Iran have since shown self-restraint. The attack was on Syrian soil, but there has also been little response from the regime.

The Golan attack does not qualify as a real casus belli to launch a full-scale war for any side. But it could qualify for a return strike by Syria, Hizballah or Iran. No party in Syria would have anything to lose politically from such a response.

The same cannot be said about Israel, which is heading to an early general election. The Netanyahu administration does not need a war on two fronts in Lebanon and Syria either.

The silence from those attacked shows that these parties do not believe that the Arab people are entitled to credible account about what happened. Instead our only source of information is the enemy, Israel, who are not necessarily a reliable or impartial party.

Only the funerals of those dead shed some light on the truth. Even those trying to stop news getting out cannot stop funerals taking place or deny the names of the dead.

The Israeli media quoted its military as saying the convoy was carrying out an inspection mission of a Hizballah position on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights.

The silence from those attacked shows that they do not believe that the Arab people are entitled to credible account about what happened.

The goal of the party, according to the Israelis, was to deploy surface-to-surface missiles close to the Israeli border. The Israeli media said the strike was a cautionary message to Tehran, Damascus, and Hizballah that the Golan Heights was a no-go area for their soldiers.

The Arab side could have put forward its own account. It did not, allowing the Israeli version of events to fill the vacuum.

Even more exaggerated was the report from Israeli intelligence that the Syrian army boosted its surface-to-surface missiles in Quneitra with Iranian Fateh-110 rockets on January 10.

The Israelis say the site was visited by the Syrian deputy chief of staff, General Ali Abdullah Ayoub, and was advised by Iranian Revolutionary Guard officers in civilian clothes.

The Israelis used such terminology, lies and spin to justify its attack, motivated as it is by upcoming elections. They knew that the Syrian-Hizballah-Iranian targets they struck would not return fire, let alone launch a retaliatory strike.

They are experts at exaggerating threats posed by their enemies.

This article is an edited translation from our Arabic edition.

Opinions expressed in this article remain those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of al-Araby al-Jadeed, its editorial board or staff.