Quneitra Will Be Focus Of Syrian Troops Against Nusra

Syria forces ranged for major counteroffensive to dislodge rebels from Quneitra. High tension on Golan

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report September 3, 2014, 11:06 PM (IDT)

Tags:  Golan,  Syrian war,  ISIS,  Nusra Front,  Israel,

Syrian soldiers

The Syrian army was poised Wednesday, Sept. 3 for an all-out offensive in the coming hours to take out the rebels holding parts of the Golan town of Quneitra and the crossing into Israel, DEBKAfile’s military sources report. The concentration of Syrian troops at a staging point is clearly visible from Israeli military positions and villages on the Golan.

The assault force consists of a large number of troops from the Syrian army’s 7th Division with many tanks, which the Syrians have been wary hitherto of moving into the battle zone, after being cautioned by Israel via the UN that they would be infringing ceasefire agreements with Israel and risk incurring IDF counteraction.

However, high authority in Damascus appears to be counting on the revulsion and shock,  generated around the world by the beheading by ISIS of the American-Jewish journalist Steven Sotloff, deterring Israel from intervening against Syrian forces which are fighting another Al Qaeda offshoot, the Nusra Front.
All in all, say DEBKA’s sources, the decision to embark on a large-scale assault on rebel gains in the Golan means that military priorities have been reshuffled at the highest level of Syrian policy-making. After treating the Golan and Quneitra front as a strategic backwater hitherto, they suddenly occupy center stage in Damascus as a key arena for vanquishing rebel forces.

Israel’s Golan forces and population are in a state of preparedness. Tensions rose palpably Wednesday, when Syrian fighter-bombers flew over Quneitra and dropped Iranian-made barrel-bombs on rebel positions. They acted in defiance of Israel’s threat to send its air force against Syrian jets intruding in the Golan no-flight zone.

This threat followed the first Syria air strike over Quneitra on Aug. 28, against which Israel refrained from interfering. But Damascus was obviously not deterred from launching another air strike over the Golan to support its coming offensive.

Wednesday night, the Security Council called on all UN members who had any influence with Nusra al-Jabha to intercede for the release of the 44 UN Fijian observers the Islamist group is holding hostage since last week. The same resolution also ordered Nusra to immediately return the weapons and vehicles, some of them armored, they had seized from the UN Disengagement and Observer Force.
With the Syrian sword about to fall on their heads, it is doubtful that the Syrian Islamists will heed either of those calls.

Syrian-Israel Border Warms Up--The Next Hotspot?

Islamist Rebels Seize Control of Border Crossing Between Israel, Syria

By Raphael Poch August 28, 2014 , 12:00 pm

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“Thus says the Lord: ‘For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron.’” (Amos 1:3)

Medics treat a wounded Israeli soldier who was injured by flying ordnance from Syrian Golan battle in the Golan Heights on August 27, 2014, The IDF instructed farmers and civilians on Wednesday to stay away from the border with Syria on the Golan Heights. The measure came after intense fighting between the Syrian army and rebels in the Quneitra crossing region. (Photo: Flash90)

Pitched battles between President Bashar Assad’s forces and Islamist rebels in Syria, fighting in the area of Quneitra spilled over into Israel Wednesday morning as an al-Qaeda linked rebel group reportedly took control of the only crossing between Israel and Syria.

A border monitoring group reported that Syrian rebels, including al-Qaeda’s affiliate Al-Nusra Front, seized control of the border crossing.

“Al-Nursa Front and other rebel groups took the Quneitra crossing, and heavy fighting with the Syrian army is continuing in the surrounding area,” confirmed Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights NGO.

Six mortar shells were fired into Israel on Wednesday and exploded on the Israeli side of the Golan Heights. There were no casualties, but the mortars did cause damage to some vehicles.

Shortly afterwards, an IDF officer was light-to-moderately wounded, although the IDF was not able to say as to whether the cause for the injury was a result of shrapnel or stray gunfire emanating from Quneitra. The officer was evacuated to Rambam Hospital in Haifa.

The IDF responded by firing at two military positions near the source of the mortar fire.

Syrian rebel groups later announced the “liberation” of the Quneitra border crossing.

Later in the evening, an Israeli man was lightly wounded when a seventh mortar launched from Syria exploded near him, hours after the Islamist rebels in Syria captured the border crossing.

Early Thursday morning, Syrian media reported that Syrian army jets were bombing rebel positions near the Israeli border. According to Reuters, the jets are striking near the Quneitra crossing. However, the rebels appear to be “holding ground.”

Rebels and government forces have been struggling for control over many parts of southern Syria, and are continuing to fight for control of the only crossing from Syria into Israel.

Farmers and agricultural workers have been instructed to avoid the areas near the border, as heavy fighting continued to rage in Quneitra and the surrounding area. Additionally, as a preventative measure the nearby Volcanic Park and the Emek Quneitra Observation Point have been closed to tourists.

This is the third time in recent weeks that fallout from the fighting in Syria  has spilled over into Israel. Earlier in the week, rockets were fired into the Golan Heights from Syria. On Sunday night, air raid sirens sounded in northern Israel and the remains of five rockets were found scattered in the area the next morning. The rockets caused no casualties and lightly damaged an electric cable.

Also this week, terrorists in Lebanon fired several rockets into northern Israel.

Last month a rocket from Syria prompted Israeli artillery to shell Syrian army positions.

In June Israeli warplanes attacked Syrian military headquarters and positions after an Israeli teenager was killed in a cross-border attack by forces loyal to the Assad regime.

Echoes of numerous explosions can be heard throughout the Golan emanating from the fighting. The rebel forces are attempting  to wrest Quneitra, Assad’s last stronghold in southern Syria, away from him. This is the second offensive by the rebels against Quneitra.

The War In Syria Goes On. Muslims Against Muslims. We Were Smart Not To Get Involved.

IDF Shuts Down Border as Syrian War Moves Closer (Video)

Posted by: Lea Speyer May 13, 2014 , 11:33 am

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“Whoever is found will be thrust through, and whoever is caught will fall by the sword.” (Isaiah 13:15)

IDF tanks seen in the Golan Heights near the Israel-Syria border. (Photo: IDF)

As the crisis in Syria heats up, the IDF is not taking any chances when it comes to protecting its borders.

A recent video emerged claiming that Syrian rebels captured the villages of Quneitra and Qunaytirah, not far from the Israel-Syria border in the Golan Heights. As a result, the IDF took proactive steps in help stem the flow of possible violence spilling over into Israel.

The IDF closed the Quneitra crossing several times this week and has even refused UNDOF forces to pass through. An IDF spokeswoman told AFP that the area was closed “for security reasons.”

Radical and moderate Islamist rebel groups announced that they would now seek to capture the village of al-Hamidia along the Quneitra crossing as well as the a-Rawdi crossing. According to a statement in the video by the rebels, the operation is meant to remove the Syrian government from the area.

The rebels hope that the newest operation would allow them to reach their final goal in the area, that of overtaking the villages of Jabta Elhashab and Taranja, which is directly adjacent to the Israel border.

The video, which was published on the rebel groups Facebook page, claims that it has been aided by the Araya al-Jihad (Jihad Squadrons) and Harchat Mujahedeen a-Shaham (Syrian Jihad Warriors Movement). At one point, the rebels are mere feet away from the border fence.

During the video, the men are seen being lectured about the importance of “Jihad for Allah.” The rebel leader stated that the overall goal was the implementation of Sharia law in the region and not removing Assad from power.

At several points throughout the video, armed rebels can be seen in pickup trucks waving the notorious black flag associated with al-Qaeda which reads, “There is no God but Allah.”

Since the beginning of the civil war, Israel has raised its alert level on the border. IDF soldiers stationed along the border with Syria are put on high alert each time either rebel or government forces gather close to Israeli territory. The IDF has encountered live rounds and shells being shot into Israel from Assad and rebel forces fighting one another.

Rebel video from Quneitra (Reuters)

Read more at http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/15027/idf-shuts-border-syrian-war-moves-closer/#wwgrpdOsyBg6up81.99