Golan calm after Syrian bid to break through border Sunday
Day-long clashes Sunday, June 5, escalated towards evening between Israeli troops ordered to prevent border incursions and hundreds of Syrian-Palestinians throwing rocks and attempting to break through. A mass sit-on the border was threatened after Syrian children were toward the Israeli border and Sunday night, Majd al-Shams youth began stoning Israeli troops from the rear. Israel's border contingents remained on alert Sunday night for further disturbances from Syria.
Two breaches of the fence occurred during the day at Majd al Shams and Kuneitra on the Golan but the marchers refrained from stepping across into Israel. The breaches occurred during a ceasefire requested by the Red Cross to evacuate wounded.
Later Sunday, many more casualties were reported from a powerful anti-tank mine explosion some 3 kilometers inside Syria. Ambulances were seen heading for Kuneitra hospital.
debkafile reported earlier Sunday:
Israeli troops opened fire during the day when the Syrian advance was not stopped by tear gas, shots in the air, firing aimed at legs and loudspeaker warnings in Arabic that they approached the border on pain of death.
The soldiers used sniper fire against pinpointed targets of individuals trying to damage the fence and two armed men sighted in near the Kuneitra border. The reinforced contingents were ordered to act firmly and with restraint to prevent a recurrence of the mass breaches of Israel's Syrian, Lebanese, Gaza Strip and West Bank borders on May 15.
The Israel-Syrian fence was repaired and strengthened with coiled razor wire, ditches were dug and signs warning of minefields put up. The IDF declared the entire Golan a closed military zone.
Ahead of Sunday, the Netanyahu government relayed messages to neighboring Arab leaders that Israel would not tolerate any more assaults on its borders.
This latest round of attempted Palestinian incursions was called for June 5 to mark the 44th anniversary of the Arabs armies' defeat by Israel in the Six-Day War. Syrian TV goaded the demonstrators to sustain their assaults on the Israeli border fence after sending a special crew to cover the event – unlike the Assad regime's brutal crackdown of dissent against his own regime which is closed to domestic and foreign media. During the day, 28 protesters were shot dead in northwest Syria.
North of Jerusalem, police used rubber bullets, stun grenades and tear gas to push hundreds of stone-throwing rioters back from the Kalandia crossing from the West Bank side. The Palestinians reported 20 minor injuries.
In Lebanon, the army and UNIFIL combined forces to prevent disturbances near the Israeli border.
