We reject the shedding of even a single drop of blood under the pretext of avenging our children
"Druze leaders in the annexed Golan Heights have distanced themselves from Israeli threats to retaliate against Lebanon’s Hezbollah group, who Israel blamed for a deadly rocket strike on a Druze Arab town in the territory, the AFP reports.Most of Majdal Shams’s around 11,000 mainly Druze residents still identify as Syrian more than half a century after Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria and later annexed it in a move not recognised by the international community.On a visit to the town on Monday, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Israel would deliver a “severe response” to the strike, which killed 12 children aged between 10 and 16 as they played football in the town on Saturday.In a statement issued after his visit, Druze lay and religious leaders said the community rejects the “attempt to exploit the name of Majdal Shams as a political platform at the expense of the blood of our children”.Noting that the Druze faith “forbids killing and revenge in any form”, the community leaders said “we reject the shedding of even a single drop of blood under the pretext of avenging our children”." (Gdn today)-----------------------------Also today in the Guardian:-"Israeli strikes hit Syrian air defence basesTwo air defence bases in southern Syria have been struck by Israeli missiles overnight, a war monitor has said.The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported no casualties in the overnight strikes in Daraa province, which abuts the armistice line separating Syrian and Israeli forces on the Golan.Syria’s state-run media did not report any strikes.The move marks a further rise in tensions on Israel’s northern border after a deadly rocket strike on the annexed Golan Heights killed 12 over the weekend."Preparing?
David Ainsworth ● 324d3 Comments