Monday, May 16, 2011

Coordinated Israel Border Breeches on "Nakba" Day suggest Iranian hand


Syrians stream over the border fence challenging Israel's sovereignty


Syrian Border Violence -Anthony Shadid

For 37 years the border between Israel and Syria, still technically at war, has proven as quiet as any of the Arab-Israeli frontiers silenced by peace agreements. [T]he Syrian government, which controls access to the border, allowed crowds to venture to a place it had all but declared off limits until now.  [F]or the first time in his 11-year reign, Mr. Assad demonstrated to Israel, the region and world that in an uprising that has posed the greatest threat to his family’s four decades of rule, he could provoke war to stay in power.
[New York Times]



[T]he IDF dealt with four simultaneous fronts - Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, and the West Bank.  While all expectations were for violence in the West Bank, it turned out to be the quietest of the four.
(Jerusalem Post)


Arab Protesters Descend on Israeli Borders

Thousands of Arab protesters marched on Israel's borders with Syria, Lebanon and Gaza on Sunday in an unprecedented wave of demonstrations, in an annual Palestinian mourning ritual marking the anniversary of Israel's birth.

At the Syrian frontier, thousands of people approached the border, throwing rocks and bottles at Israeli forces. When hundreds of people burst across the border fence into the Israeli-controlled town of Majdal Shams, surprised soldiers opened fire. Syrian forces did not intervene.

At the Lebanese border near Maroun al-Ras, Israeli troops clashed with a large crowd of Lebanese demonstrators who approached the border. In Gaza, demonstrators were wounded as they tried to approach a heavily fortified border crossing into Israel.

Inside Israel, an Arab truck driver in Tel Aviv plowed through a crowded street, killing one Israeli and injuring 16 others.
(AP-Fox News)


Israel Sees "Fingerprints of Iran" on Border Riots

IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai said, "I see fingerprints of Iranian provocation and an attempt to use Nakba day to create conflict."
(Israel Defense Forces)
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VIDEO UPDATE:


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