Syria: Israel supports al-Nusra rebels

Israeli Army Vehicle Enters Syria, Israel Supports Al Nusra Rebels

Michel Chossudovsky

Global Research,

21 May, 2013

According to the Syrian Military Command, an Israeli Armed unit entered Syria. An Israeli army vehicle which crossed the cease-fire line towards the village of Bir Ajam inside Syria was destroyed by Syrian forces:

“On Tuesday at 1:10 am (2100 GMT Monday), our armed forces destroyed an Israeli vehicle with everything it was carrying, which came from the occupied territories,”

“General Command of the Army and the Armed Forces said that our armed forces destroyed an Israeli vehicle entered from the occupied territories and crossed the cease-fire line towards the village of Bir Ajam.”

“The vehicle passed the ceasefire line and was moving towards the village of Bir-Ajam situated in the liberated Syrian zone”

The report also states that the actions of the Israeli armed forces were in support and in coordination with terrorist groups in Bir Ajam

 ”The village is located in the liberated area of Syrian territories where there are armed terrorist groups, ”

“Following that, the Israeli enemy fired two rockets from the occupied site of Tal al-Faras toward one of our sites in al-Zubaydiah village; no casualties reported, ” the statement said.

It added that the aggression aims at raising the terrorist groups’ collapsed moral due to the painful blows they received at the hands of our armed forces in more than one place, especially in al-Qsier area.

The General Command of the Army and the Armed Forces said that the blatant aggression confirms again the involvement of the Zionist entity in the ongoing events in Syria and the direct coordination with the armed terrorist gangs.

The statement stressed that any breach or an attempt to violate the state sovereignty will be responded.

It stressed that whoever thinks that he is able to test our strength, alert and readiness to maintain our dignity and sovereignty is mistaken.

On Tuesday, May 21, Israel’s Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon confirmed the incident, without acknowledging that an Israeli Army unit had crossed the cease-fire line into Syria.

“Last night we destroyed a Syrian army position which fired on an Israeli patrol.”

According to Israeli military spokesman Avichai Adraee, the Syrian army “fired on an Israeli patrol, which we confirmed six hours ago, but did not destroy a vehicle or kill anyone,”

An earlier Israeli statement said “it had responded to fire from inside Syria that hit a military patrol in the Golan Heights overnight, damaging a military vehicle.”

Israeli Support to Al Nusra

In February 2013, Israel announced that it was considering “creating a buffer zone reaching within 10 miles inside Syria”, allegedly to “protect itself from fundamentalist rebels on the other side of the border.”

The plan drafted by the military was submitted to Prime Minister Netanyahu. The stated objective reported in the London Times (February 4, 2013) borders on ridicule:

“In recent months jihadist groups such as the Nusra Front, which Washington regards as a terrorist organisation linked to al-Qaeda, are reported to have infiltrated several border villages. Two of the villages, Breika and Bir Ajam, are less than a mile from the Israeli border.

“The proposal, which has been drawn up by the military and presented to Binyamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, is intended to secure the 47-mile border against a growing Islamist threat if President Bashar al-Assad’s embattled regime loses control of the area. (emphasis added)

What Israeli officials are intimating is that unless president Bashar Al Assad secures the area against the terrorists, the jihadist rebels constitute a potential threat to the State of Israel: an utterly absurd proposition.

In a twisted logic, Tel Aviv claims that the US sponsored “opposition” jihadist forces which are threatening the government of Bashar Al Assad also threaten the security of Israel.

While Al Nusra is on the State Department list of terrorist organizations, it is directly supported by the US and its allies, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and Israel.

The proposed “buffer zone” constitutes a pretext to channel Israeli support to the terrorists in liaison with Washington.

Israel is in close liaison with rebel commanders in Southern Syria, implying frequent incursions into Syria.In this regard, a  report by Debka, the Israeli intelligence news agency (May 8, 2013) confirms that wounded Al Nusra rebel fighters are being provided medical care in an Israeli hospital facility in the Golan Heights:

Israel has set up a large field hospital near the Tel Hazakah observation and military post on Golan which overlooks southern Syria and northern Jordan. There, incoming Syrian war wounded [Al Nusra rebels] are vetted and examined by Israeli army medics who decide whether to patch them up and send them back, or judge them badly hurt enough for hospital care.

The report also acknowledges that the rescue of wounded Al Nusra fighters requires the incursion of unmarked “Israeli army vehicles” into Syrian territory:

Unidentified Syria military sources vowed to attack the Israeli army vehicles crossing the line to evacuate wounded rebels in need of medical care. Our military sources say that if Israeli army vehicles, presumably unmarked, are indeed entering Syria to pick up injured rebels,they are most likely alerted by local liaison agents in the battle zones who guide them to the spots were the injured men are waiting.(Debka, op cit)

The above Israeli  intelligence news report points to “local liaison in the battlefield”, between the IDF and rebel mercenary forces. This liaison  and cooperation with Al Nusra also includes the incursion of Israeli covert special forces inside Syria as well as the inflow of weapons and supplies.

Al Nusra: Trained by the Pentagon

Al Nusra is largely made up of mercenaries recruited in Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Covert (Western) special forces and military advisers have also integrated their ranks.

The Al Qaeda affiliated terrorists directly funded by Washington constitute the foot-soldiers of the Western military alliance including Israel. 

Confirmed by CNN, the Al Nusra terrorists have also been trained in the use of chemical weapons by special forces on contract to the Pentagon:

The training [in chemical weapons], which is taking place in Jordan and Turkey, involves how to monitor and secure stockpiles and handle weapons sites and materials, according to the sources. Some of the contractors are on the ground in Syria working with the rebels to monitor some of the sites, according to one of the officials.

The nationality of the trainers was not disclosed, though the officials cautioned against assuming all are American. (CNN, December 09, 2012, emphasis added