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Are Israel and Syria edging closer to war? Tensions between the two longtime enemies have ratcheted up still further after Damascus alleged that Israeli Air Force planes had penetrated Syria’s northern air space earlier this week. Syrian reports say that its forces fired anti-aircraft missiles at the Israeli planes after they dropped "munitions" inside the country. Israeli authorities have refused to comment officially, and Syrian Vice President Farouk Shara was quoted in The Jerusalem Post as saying that his country was not interested in being drawn into a war with Israel. This is not the first time that Israel has invaded Syrian airspace. In June 2006 Israeli warplanes flew over Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's palace in what many saw as a defiant message to the Syrian people.NEWSWEEK's Joanna Chen spoke to professor Eyal Zisser, head of the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University, about the possible impact of the latest developments. Excerpts:
NEWSWEEK: Israel has penetrated Syrian airspace before, but this time the incident is being treated more seriously. What has changed?
NEWSWEEK: Israel has penetrated Syrian airspace before, but this time the incident is being treated more seriously. What has changed?
Eyal Zisser: The political climate changed in [August] 2006, when President Bashar al-Assad declared a shift in the status quo between Israel and Syria. His speech created a new and more hostile environment, and what happened [Thursday] must be seen against this background. So what exactly happened? That's the big question. We have the Syrian report, but so far there has been no Israeli denial. Israel may have been testing Syrian radar detection facilities in the area. Is a quick military response from the Syrians at all likely? I don't expect anything dramatic right now. The incident is not something big in itself, and Syrian sources have stated this. Syria isn't interested in any deterioration in relations at this stage and is clearly not interested in war, so any further response to this incident, if any, will be diplomatic. However, I suggest following events closely, since there's clearly rising tension between Israel and Syria and it's not going to go away...
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