UN urged to condemn Israeli airstrike
Syria called Sunday for the 15-nation UN Security Council to condemn Israel’s airstrike on the Ein Saheb training camp deep inside Syrian territory.
The Israeli army said the airstrike by its warplanes was retaliation for the suicide bomb attack in a beach restaurant in the northern Israeli city of Haifa.
Syria’s UN Ambassador Fayssal Mekdad called on the international community to condemn the military operation.
He said further attacks inside Syria risked pushing the Middle East “road map” to the brink of collapse.
Syria said the “unwarranted aggression” violated the UN Charter and the 1974 agreement that emerged from the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
But Israeli counterpart Dan Gillerman said the airstrike was a “measured defensive operation” aimed at Islamic Jihad, the Palestinian militant group which claimed responsibility for the suicide bomb atrocity.
An Israeli army statement read: “The Israel Defence Forces operated last night deep inside Syrian territory and hit a training base used by terror groups, including Islamic Jihad.
“The Islamic Jihad, like other terror organisations enjoys the support and backing of countries in the region – foremost Iran and Syria.
“Syria is a country that sponsors terror and constantly tries to sabotage any attempt to achieve quiet and stability in the region.”
France, a permanent Security Council member, criticised the bombing as an “unacceptable violation” of international law covering national sovereignty.
Separately, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Sunday named Prime Minister-designate Ahmed Qorei as Prime Minister of Palestine and leader of the emergency Cabinet.
