Arab Analyst:

Israel Fears Attacking Syria with Fighter Jets

Rasa - Abdel Bari Atwan, the editor-in-chief of Rai al-Youm newspaper, referred to Israel's recent rocket attack on an airbase near Damascus, and said Tel Aviv is afraid of using its air force for strikes on Syria due to the country's reinvigorated air defense system.

News ID: 426542

Date: 14 January 2017 - 22:27

RNA - "Israel's attack against Syria means that the Arab country which is facing a devastating war is still considered as a real threat by Israel," Atwan wrote on Saturday.

He added that Israel's rocket attack on al-Mezzeh airbase shows that Tel Aviv doesn’t dare to use its fighter jets for the fear of being targeted by Syria which is equipped with the Russian S-300 missile defense system.

Atwan underscored that Syria will certainly give a response to Israel's aggressions.

Syrian sources confirmed on Friday that Israel had launched an attack on a military airport near Damascus.

Syrian State TV said that al-Mezzeh military air facility was struck several times near the Syrian capital of Damascus.

Israeli rockets took aim at an ammunition depot, producing an enormous explosion, according to the state TV.

The airport is a major strategic asset used by Syrian elites, military officials and troops as a transit complex.

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The Syrian government also used the airport as a military outpost to launch artillery shells at former terrorist-held areas in the suburbs of Damascus.

Following the attacks, a Syrian army spokesman warned that Israel would face repercussions of the "flagrant" attack on the al-Mezzeh military airport.

A spokesman was also quoted on the state TV as saying that the projectiles originated near Lake Tiberias in Northern Israel just after midnight.

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