A clash between Syrian and Israeli soldiers yesterday, the first in recent memory, led to the death of one Syrian and the capture of another. IDF troops of the Egoz
Brigade on a routine patrol at the Israeli-Jordanian-Syrian border spotted a man dressed in civilian clothes west of the Rakad river, inside Israeli territory. As the soldiers approached, they came under fire at very close range from a second man hidden in nearby bushes. The Israelis returned fire and killed the gunman, whose weapon apparently jammed. They then overpowered and took for questioning the first man, who may also have been armed. Israeli officials feel that the Syrians did not mean to perform an ambush, but did open fire first when they saw that they had been detected.
The Syrians have a different version, however. They say that their men were merely trying to have a drink from the river when the Israelis fired at them. An official announcement said that the Israeli shots "led to the martyrdom of one and missing the other." The spokesman added, "One of our nearby patrols returned fire," but threatened that because "shooting Syrian citizens within the demilitarized zone is a violation of the disengagement forces agreement and an unjustified provocation, investigations are undergoing now for appropriate measures to be taken."
A senior IDF official told Ynet that similar shooting incidents had last taken place 10 and 15 years ago, respectively. Several months ago, Syrian terrorists managed to infiltrate into Israel near Ramat Magshimim, and were killed by IDF soldiers.
Brigade on a routine patrol at the Israeli-Jordanian-Syrian border spotted a man dressed in civilian clothes west of the Rakad river, inside Israeli territory. As the soldiers approached, they came under fire at very close range from a second man hidden in nearby bushes. The Israelis returned fire and killed the gunman, whose weapon apparently jammed. They then overpowered and took for questioning the first man, who may also have been armed. Israeli officials feel that the Syrians did not mean to perform an ambush, but did open fire first when they saw that they had been detected.
The Syrians have a different version, however. They say that their men were merely trying to have a drink from the river when the Israelis fired at them. An official announcement said that the Israeli shots "led to the martyrdom of one and missing the other." The spokesman added, "One of our nearby patrols returned fire," but threatened that because "shooting Syrian citizens within the demilitarized zone is a violation of the disengagement forces agreement and an unjustified provocation, investigations are undergoing now for appropriate measures to be taken."
A senior IDF official told Ynet that similar shooting incidents had last taken place 10 and 15 years ago, respectively. Several months ago, Syrian terrorists managed to infiltrate into Israel near Ramat Magshimim, and were killed by IDF soldiers.