Arab League chief decries Israeli strikes in Syria as ‘provocative escalation’

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit today denounced Israeli air strikes in Syria as a “provocative escalation” that seeks to exploit Syria’s political transition to establish “an illegal and illegitimate reality.”

In a statement, Aboul Gheit called the strikes that targeted the towns of Al-Kiswah in the Damascus countryside and Izraa in Daraa in southern Syria last night a “reckless provocation and an escalation aimed at taking advantage of Syria’s transition to impose an illegal and illegitimate reality.”

“Israel’s occupation of any Syrian land is a violation of international law,” he said, calling on the international community to take a clear stance against the “unjustified aggression, which seeks to ignite regional tensions and obstruct Syria’s political transition.”

He reaffirmed the Arab League’s solidarity with Syria in the face of Israeli attacks and “blatant attempts to sow discord.”

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Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz confirmed the strikes on Syria, warning that any attempt by Syrian regime forces “to establish themselves in the security zone in southern Syria will be met with fire.”

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for the demilitarisation of southern Syria, saying that his army will stay in Syria’s buffer zone “indefinitely.”

After the fall of the Bashar Al-Assad regime in December, Israel expanded its occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights by seizing the demilitarised buffer zone, a move that violated the 1974 disengagement agreement with Syria. Tel Aviv also intensified air strikes targeting Syrian military positions across the country.

Israel’s recent military advances in the Golan Heights, which it has occupied since 1967, have drawn condemnation from the UN and several Arab nations.