‘State terrorism’: Damascus urges UN to condemn Israeli attack on Syrian copper factory
The Syrian Foreign Ministry has sent two letters to the UN, urging the international body to condemn a recent Israeli air strike on a copper factory in the province of Homs.
The airstrikes were carried out late Wednesday, when Israeli warplanes targeted a copper plant in the Hassia industrial area some 35 kilometers (21 miles) south of the city of Homs. There was no information on casualties or destruction officially available.
READ MORE: Israeli warplanes strike near Damascus airport – reports
The Syrian Army reportedly launched anti-aircraft missiles in response, but missed as the planes returned to Israel intact. The attack was reportedly conducted from Lebanon’s airspace. A number of photos purportedly from the location have emerged online, showing a large fire at an industrial site. RT could not independently verify the authenticity of these pictures.
حرائق تسببت بها الغارة التي شنتها الطائرات الإسرائيلية على المنطقة الصناعية في #حسياء مساء أمس،وعادت بعدها سالمة كما اعتادت منذ 40 عاما! pic.twitter.com/033ZOEx5Jh
— Nizar Nayouf (@nizarnayouf) 2 ноября 2017 г.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry has sent two letters to the UN Secretary General and Chairman of the Security Council, urging the organization to condemn the attack and take “strict and immediate” measures to prevent Tel Aviv from attacking in the future. The Syrian ministry again accused Israel of supporting terrorism, claiming that the country is striving to get to a whole new level in doing so.
“This new Israeli aggression is proof that the Israeli occupation authorities are not satisfied with their practice of state terrorism against the Arab population in occupied Palestine, Syria and Lebanon, but are seeking the role of an official sponsor of terrorism,” SANA news agency cited the Ministry as saying.
While Israel did not provide an official comment on the latest attack, its forces have hit various targets in Syria over the past few years, including military convoys and installations, airports and industrial sites. The usual pretext for such airstrikes is targeting of “Hezbollah infrastructure.” Israel, alongside with the US and several other counties, designates this Islamist paramilitary organization and a political party as a terrorist group.
Another common pretext for the attacks against the Syrian Army are “stray projectiles” coming into Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights due to the ongoing conflict in the country. Tel Aviv promptly responds to such incidents by shelling positions of the Syrian government troops exclusively, without conducting any investigation to determine who fired the stray projectile.
While commenting on an October incident with an Israeli spy plane fired at while in flight over Lebanon, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) stated that the “Syrian regime is responsible for any firing from its territory.” While the plane was unharmed, Israel bombed a Syrian army anti-aircraft position.
