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Each Side of Syrian Conflict Claims Israeli Strike in Its Favor

Following the Israeli aerial attacks on Syria, each side of the Syrian crisis questions the intentions behind the seemingly spontaneous offensive by their southern neighbor, writes Jean Aziz.
An Israeli air force F15-E fighter jet takes off for a mission over the Gaza Strip, from the Tel Nof air base in central Israel November 19, 2012. Israel bombed dozens of targets in Gaza on Monday and said that while it was prepared to step up its offensive by sending in troops, it preferred a diplomatic solution that would end Palestinian rocket fire from the enclave. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (ISRAEL - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR3AMGC

Beirut may be the only city in the region where you can meet — on the same street or in adjacent cafes — representatives of the two parties involved in the conflict in Syria and hear from them concrete information, rather than mere readings and analyses. For example, the Israeli air raid that targeted Syrian sites near Damascus on Jan. 30 is interpreted in two accounts from Beirut: Israel carried out a raid against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, or Israel raided on his behalf!

News reports, especially in the Western press, discussing the Israeli air raid on the outskirts of Damascus raise the same general questions: Has the Assad regime crossed a red line — or almost crossed one — prompting Tel Aviv to deter it? Did the Assad regime cross a red line by possessing non-conventional weapons, or by attempting to transfer such weapons to Hezbollah? Or by allowing Iran to transfer weapons to this Lebanese Shiite organization?

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