Allegations have surfaced that Israel organized its recent bombing campaign against the Syrian military in collaboration with terrorists fighting Bashar al-Assad’s government. The latest attack escalates the two-and-a-half year conflict that has already resulted in the deaths of at least 70,000.
Following the Israeli strike that killed 42 soldiers and left more than 100 missing at a research facility Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry rushed to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in an effort to jumpstart moribund peace talks and prevent what many fear could become a broader regional war.
Citing anonymous Jordanian and Egyptian intelligence sources, Klein Online alleged Sunday that there had been coordination between Israel and Al-Qaeda terrorists fighting the Assad regime.
“The sources said the rebels did not know about the Israeli strike in advance but instead were given specific instructions for when to begin [Sunday’s] major assaults against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad,” writes Aaron Klein.
“Almost the moment the Israel Air Force departed was the moment the rebel advance began,” the Egyptian intelligence source claims.
According to these unnamed sources, the rebels initiated clashes with Syrian forces in Rankous and Daraya, both located in the countryside around Damascus, and in the villages of Homms, al-Alqamieh, Tunaibeh and Menneg near Aleppo.
Syrian government spokespeople also tried to underscore this alleged collaboration in recent statements.
“This aggression opens the door to all possibilities,” said Syrian Information Minister Omran Zoabi. “Especially since it clearly reveals, without a doubt, the degree of the relationship between the components of the war on Syria with the terrorist takfiri and Zionist tools. The government of the Arab Syrian republic has stressed for a long time this link.”
This is not the first time that Israel has struck inside Syria, with the Netanyahu government taking credit for an attack on an arms shipment allegedly headed toward the Hezbollah just days earlier.
Thousands of Hezbollah fighters are now in Syria fighting on behalf of Bashar al-Assad. Israel has long considered Hezbollah to be a terrorist organization.
Attempting to play intermediary is U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on his recent trip to Moscow. “We certainly want to try to make another stab at it, to make another effort at [peace], because events on the ground have become steadily worse,” said a State Department official ahead of Kerry’s departure.
Russia, along with China and Iran, remain firmly supportive of Bashar al-Assad’s government — all condemned Israel’s recent airstrikes.
Dividing the international community is the issue of chemical weapons alleged to have been used earlier this month. It is unclear whether the rebels or the Syrian regime used the weapons.
The United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Syria clarified its findings Monday, saying, “[The commission] wishes to clarify that it has not reached conclusive findings as to the use of chemical weapons in Syria by any parties to the conflict.”
President Obama says the U.S. has drawn a clear “red line” claiming that any use of chemical weapons is unacceptable and would necessitate an escalation of U.S. involvement that could result in a ground invasion.
“If I can establish the use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime in a way that the U.S. and international community can be sure of, that is a game changer,” President Obama said last week. “By ‘game changer’ I mean we would have to review the range of options that are available.”