October 02, 2007

Israeli Military Acknowledges September Airstrike In Syria

For the first time since a Sept. 6 Israeli airstrike on Syrian soil that has been shrouded in secrecy, Israel's military censor is permitting discussion of the attack by Israeli officials.

"The military censor has authorized for the first time the publication of the fact that Israeli combat planes attacked a military target deep inside Syrian territory on September 6," Israeli army radio announced today. "It is the only element that the censor allowed to be published."

Despite the censor's permission, Israeli officials have so far remained tight-lipped about the incident. The Jerusalem Post reports that the country's "political echelon... was not consulted by the censor over its decision to lift its strict veil of secrecy over" the airstrike.

The decision came one day after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad publicly addressed the incident for the first time in an interview with BBC News. He said the strike showed Israel's "visceral antipathy towards peace" and affirmed his country's "right to retaliate." "Retaliate doesn't mean missile for missile and bomb for bomb," he added. "We have our means to retaliate, maybe politically, maybe in other ways."

AP and Haaretz have more on this story.

Posted at 2:25 PM
Posted to: Israel, Middle East, Syria
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