Lebanese
Tremors Rock Syria
By Dahr Jamail
15 July,2006
Inter Press Service
DAMASCUS, Jul 13
(IPS) - Syrians are outraged over Israeli air strikes in Lebanon
that have killed 53 civilians and closed down Beirut's international
airport.
Early Thursday morning Israeli
air strikes targeted the new Rafiq al-Hariri international airport.
Israeli naval vessels entered Lebanon's territorial waters and blocked
access to ports while its forces launched an offensive in southern Lebanon
against Hezbollah fighters.
Hezbollah is a militant group
that has long engaged in armed conflict with Israel. It is believed
to be strongest in the south of Lebanon, in the areas bordering Israel.
The Israeli offensive was
launched in response to the killing of eight Israeli soldiers in clashes
with Hezbollah fighters Wednesday near the border 15km from the Mediterranean.
Two Israeli soldiers were taken hostage. An Israeli soldier had earlier
been captured in Gaza.
In an escalation of the conflict,
an Israeli woman was killed after Hezbollah fighters fired rockets across
the border into the Israeli town Nahariya. An Israeli air base was hit
by rockets, along with other towns in the area. Several Israeli civilians
have been wounded.
The Israeli military entered
Lebanon for the first time since withdrawing six years ago.
"I doubt you will find
one Syrian who will not denounce what Israel is doing in Gaza, the West
Bank and now in Lebanon," independent publicity consultant Ibrahim
Yakhour told IPS. "Syrians believe that what the Palestinians suffer
is what the Syrians suffer."
Yakhour, a 60-year-old retired
journalist said political parties in Syria have been calling for a peaceful
political process in the Middle East for the past 30 years. "But
when people are humiliated, attacked and killed, radical reactions commence
which are deleterious to the political process."
People in Damascus also fear
that a regional war may spread to Syria. "The entire region is
now involved," said Emad Huria, a 45-year-old literary critic.
"All Arabs should raise their voices against the Israeli invasion
of Lebanon."
Maher Skandyran, a 37-year-old
worker at a watch store in downtown Damascus said Israeli double standards
are making people furious.
"I feel angry. Ninety-five
percent of the Palestinian prisoners held by Israel are innocent civilians,
including women and children. Nobody says a word about this. But when
three Israeli armed soldiers are detained, this is such a big crime,
and everyone is outraged. Is this justice?"
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan
Nasrallah said the Israeli soldiers had been seized to push Israel to
release prisoners.
Israel reacted with unexpected
aggression. An Israeli military spokesman told reporters, "Since
this morning Israeli naval vessels have enforced a full naval closure
on Lebanon, because Lebanon's ports are used to transfer both terrorists
and weapons to the terror organisations operating in Lebanon."
Another official said that
the attacks had been launched to pressure the Lebanese government to
deal with Hezbollah.
Hezbollah's al-Manar television
station in Beirut was bombed. Israel also bombed several bridges that
link southern Lebanon with the rest of the country.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud
Olmert said the action was in response to "an act of war by the
state of Lebanon." His cabinet promised a response with "appropriate
severity."
But the root of the Lebanese
problem could lie in the occupation of Palestinian areas.
"Everything which is
happening illustrates the main problem, which is the Israelis invading
and occupying Palestine and taking the land," 55-year-old local
merchant Faez Ashoor told IPS. "When that situation ends, we will
have peace.."
Some of the Syrian anger
is directed inevitably at the United States.
"I feel upset because
our neighbours like Lebanon, Iraq and Palestine are being attacked,"
said Hamad al-Khatib, 26-year-old owner of a mobile phone store in central
Damascus. "Israel doesn't care about international law. We thought
America was peaceful, but we see them support Israel, which is killing
women and children. What are we to think of America now?"
Syrians are also now worried
about themselves, he said. "This Israeli attack makes all of us
feel insecure now. We are all very anxious."