US leak of missile attack on Syrian air base angers Israel

Israeli officials have reacted angrily after a US official leaked the fact that Israel carried out a strike in the early hours of Thursday morning that destroyed anti-aircraft missiles stored at a Syrian air force base.

Both Israel and Syria refused to comment on explosions on the base near Latakia in northern Syria’s Alawite heartland, although Israel was always the most likely suspect.

However, Jerusalem was shocked when CNN quoted an anonymous Obama administration official confirming that Israel had targeted the missile base, where it believed Russian-made missiles bound for Hizbullah were stored.

Strategic ally
Israeli officials described the leak as particularly severe, coming from Israel's top strategic ally, with which it shares its most sensitive intelligence.

A Lebanese news agency reported that six Israeli fighter planes penetrated Lebanon’s air space near the border with Syria close to the time of the strike. Other reports indicated the missiles were fired from a ship in the Mediterranean Sea.

The target was believed to be batteries of Russian-made SA-125 surface-to-air anti-aircraft missiles, which Israel feared could be used by Hizbullah to target Israeli planes over Lebanon.

According to foreign media reports, Israel has carried out a number of attacks on Syria in the last year after warning that the transfer of chemical or sophisticated “game-changer” weapons to Hizbullah would cross Israel’s red line.

This week’s leak to CNN marked the third time this year that US officials have leaked the fact Israel carried out such a strike, and may indicate a deepening rift between Washington and Jerusalem, at loggerheads on how to respond to Iran’s apparent willingness to make concessions in the negotiations on its nuclear programme. In the first case, US officials launched an investigation; the second time, the US secretary of defence apologised and blamed the leak on a low-level Pentagon official.

Officials in Washington were said to be angry over the timing of Thursday’s Israeli strike, as it coincided with major progress by Syria in dismantling its chemical weapons’ capability. Although Washington failed to publicly criticise Israel for the strike attributed to it, Israel believes the leak was a way of Washington expressing displeasure.

Senior officials in Jerusalem said the leaks express the Americans’ fear that the ongoing Israeli attacks may spark a regional escalation, if Damascus feels the need to respond militarily. Such a scenario could also drag Hizbullah, or even Iran, into a wider, and much more dangerous, conflagration.

In a separate development, four Hamas militants were killed in the Gaza Strip yesterday in one of the most serious flare-ups this year.