Israel Reveals Reasons Behind Destroying Syrian Border Fortifications in Golan

In past weeks, Israeli forces raided Syrian border fortifications on the contact line in Syria’s Golan Heights, Israeli Brigadier General Roman Gofman told TASS on Friday.

“We conducted an operation against Syrian fortifications, built directly at the border and partially on our territory. That’s why we attacked them and carried out an operation,” said Gofman, who is the commander of the Israel Army Forces 210th Division stationed on the Golan Heights.

“Soldiers, who attacked those positions, returned immediately after blowing them up. They did not stay there when the raids were over.”

The operation was conducted in two stages: One facility was destroyed during the first stage, and two more – during the second one. The operation did not involve any confrontation, he further noted.

Israel does not currently consider Syria a threat, but it is afraid Hezbollah fighters could reinforce their positions on the northern side of the Golan Heights, he added.

The biggest threat is the establishment of a front line from Iran and (Hezbollah) in southern Syria to face Israel, the general explained.

On Oct.21, an Israeli strike hit the province of Quneitra in southern Syria, with a war monitor saying the attack targeted a base for pro-Iran militias.

A missile hit a school in al-Huriyyah village in Quneitra’s northern countryside, hosting groups loyal to the Lebanese Hezbollah and Iranian forces, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, amid confirmed reports of casualties.

Israel rarely affirms carrying out similar strikes, but it regularly says that it will continue to block “Iran’s attempts to consolidate its military presence in Syria and send advanced weapons to the Lebanese Hezbollah.”

Israel will not allow Hezbollah or Iran to set up on the Golan Heights border, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz told Israel Radio on Wednesday.

Gantz remarks were made after Israel revealed it had carried out a ground attack in Syrian territories last September, during which it destroyed two army outposts, under the pretext of fear that Hezbollah would use them against it.