RAMALLAH, West Bank, 12 July 2007 — The commander of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), observing cease-fire between Israel and Syria on the occupied Golan Heights, Maj. Gen. Wolfgang Jilke, yesterday expressed concern over rising tensions, but points finger mainly at Israel for breaking routine in the area and acting intensively.
“The tensions on the Golan Heights have not been so high in years. I am very worried,” he told the Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot. Contrary to the Israeli outlook, which views Syria as a strategic threat, Jilke says that Israel is the one escalating the crisis between the two countries. According to him, there are no special forces on the Syrian side that are capable of attacking Israel.
“On the Syrian side I do not notice any unusual preparations,” he says. “On the Israeli side, however, we see intensive activity... Israel ‘s right to defend itself must be obvious, but its current activities do not contribute to the efforts to diminish the tensions in the region... The Israeli conduct definitely does not contribute to calming the Syrians down.”
“We must remember that the antitank and antiaircraft missiles Syria is purchasing do not provide it with offensive abilities. Syria is renewing its weapon inventory like any other army in the world. I don’t view that as an unusual behavior,” he says.
Meanwhile, a report said yesterday predicting that war with Syria could erupt if Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert does not begin peace negotiations with Damascus, the latest Israeli Forces assessment also states that such a conflict would be “at least 10 times worse” than last summer’s conflict with Hezbollah.
Israeli Military Intelligence (MI) is also identifying and pinpointing targets for the Israeli Forces in the event that a strike is launched against Iran’s nuclear facilities, the report by the Israeli daily Jerusalem Post added. The MI recently established a new division to translate intelligence into concrete targets and information that can be used by units in the field. The Israeli Air Force has its own department that is responsible for processing intelligence and identifying targets.
According to Israeli Forces assessments, Syria is not interested in an armed confrontation, but has stepped up its preparations for war since last year’s Israel-Hezbollah conflict. Due to the lack of communication between the two countries, the Israeli Forces assessment is that a war could erupt sometime in the coming year if a diplomatic resolution is not reached first.
