09/10/2013 00:00
TW
0

by MONITOR
THE Israeli authorities yesterday admitted that its aircraft had carried out a strike against a military installation “deep inside Syria” last month. It is puzzling that they should have taken so long to acknowledge what has been widely and openly reported and discussed (including in this space ten days ago) except in Israel itself. However, the announcement did nothing to explain the purpose of the attack which is generally assumed to have been a pre-emptive strike on an installation thought to be developing missiles with the help of North Korea, and possibly having some nuclear component.

Beyond confirming that a military installation was hit on September 6, and denying any North Korean involvement, the Syrians have also said very little. Perhaps this is because Syria is waiting to see whether or not it is invited to the Middle East Peace Conference due to be held in Washington DC in November. In an unusually forthcoming interview on BBC World Service yesterday President Assad said that even if Syria is invited its attendance will depend on whether the agenda is comprehensive to the point of covering the Israeli occupation since 1967 of Syria's Golan Heights territory. Assad said he was not interested in a conference that only dealt with issues that Israel, the United States and Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah Palestinian government thought important. Syria has been very patient over the Golan Heights issue. It is often forgotten that Israel and Syria at still officially at war with each other.