BICOM

An Israeli military vehicle was struck yesterday by bullets fired from neighbouring Syria, thought to be stray gunfire from the continued fighting in Syria. An Israeli army spokesman told AFP, “A military vehicle travelling in the Golan was hit by gunfire from Syria. Apparently they were stray bullets, and there were no injuries… The incident occurred in the central sector of the Golan Heights near the demarcation line,” adding that the Israeli army had taken no action in response.

Yesterday’s incident was the second time in almost as many days that fighting from Syria threatened an encroachment of Israeli territory. On Saturday, three Syrian tanks, thought to be engaging opposition forces, briefly entered the demilitarised zone on the Golan Heights. Israel captured the strategic Golan Heights during the 1967 Six Day War, later annexing the territory. The demilitarised zone was created in the aftermath of Syria’s failed attempt to re-take the area in 1973. Saturday’s incident was the first time that such an incursion had taken place in forty years. Also in late September, a rocket fired from Syria landed in the Golan Heights a day after Syrian mortar shells landed on Israeli agricultural land.

Speaking yesterday, IDF Spokesman Yoav Mordechai indicated that the Israeli army is prepared for an increased security threat from Syria, commenting that it “is ready for any moment in which the shooting will change direction and will be turned on us.”