~*~ The Chanukah War ~*~
Israelis fired upon from Syria
A gunman fired shots early Sunday afternoon at a group of soldiers and civilians who were engaged in routine maintenance of the border fence.

by Gil Ronen, Arutz Sheva
January 11, 2009

IDF forces following the incident.
(Photo: Avihu Shapira)
 

An unknown gunman fired shots early Sunday afternoon at a group of soldiers and civilians who were engaged in routine maintenance of the border fence between Israel and Syria on the Golan Heights. No one was hurt but vehicles were hit by the gunfire.

The gunman, who fired from the Syrian side of the border into the Israeli side, escaped. His identity is not known at present. HNN reported Sunday evening that he is a Syrian soldier and that he was apprehended by members of the United Nations force stationed along the Israel-Syria borderand transferred to Syrian authorities for interrogation.

The incident occurred near the religious community of Alonei HaBashan.

Following the incident, Israel filed a complaint with the United Nations force. IDF forces combed the border to ascertain that there were no additional security threats.

The IDF said that it had issued no special instructions to the residents of the Golan and that life could go on routinely there.

Observers said the incident was currently being treated as an isolated one and that it is not seen as a sign of escalation.

Last Thursday, a volley of Katyusha rockets was fired at the northern Galilee from Lebanon, lightly injuring two people. The rockets appear to have been fired by a Palestinian group.

Observers say that both incidents may be related to the current fighting in Gaza.

The Israel-Syria border has been quiet since 1974 but there have been periods of great tension and mutual suspicion between the two states, which are formally at war with each other.