Al-Jihad denies bases outside Palestine; Israel threatens more attacks on Syria
Israel-Syria, Politics, 10/6/2003

A spokesman for the Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon said that Tel Aviv might launch new attacks against Syria if Damascus continues to shelter "terrorist organizations preparing attacks against Israel."

This was, however, following the raids which targeted a position in the Syrian territories on Saturday evening.

Ranaan Geisen said that the attack launched by the Israeli air force, 20 Km to the north of Damascus constitutes a warning to Syria "to understand that all those who help and support terrorists are not immune wherever they do exist."

He added that Syria has only to "blame herself because it refused to fulfill its obligations it bid for the USA following Iraq's war by closing 11 headquarters for terrorist organizations for its territories."

High ranking Israeli political sources reported that the Israeli army carried out a military operation that targeted Ein al-Saheb camp in the depth of the Syrian territories under the pretext it is a camp to train activists from Hamas and the Islamic Jihad movements to form what it called "terrorist cells."

The sources added that the activists returned back to the West Bank and planned and executed Fedayeen operations inside Israel that resulted in killing and wounding scores of Israelis.

The sources considered that this operation is part of a new Israeli policy based on expanding the circle of what it called "finding terrorism wherever they exist" and this policy is not restricted to borders, or timing, similar to the plenary American policy concerning the concept of terrorism.

Immediately, the occupation army refused to give details on the attack but a security source said that the camps was attacked by military warplanes. A statement by the army said "the Israeli defense forces yesterday ( Saturday) evening incurred into the Syrian territories and bombarded a training base used by terrorist groups, including the Islamic Jihad movement."

The statement said that "following Saturday's Haifa operation which resulted in killing 19 persons, the Israeli defense forces started to deal with those responsible for the terrorist attacks, including those who support them and those who use terrorism strategy to damage the Israeli civilians."

For his part, Abu Zeid al-Refai of the Islamic Jihad leaderships in Beirut denied the existence of any military positions for the Islamic Jihad in Syria. He said that this is a mere fabrication to justify the aggression and target the Palestinian groups outside the occupied territories.

In a TV interview, al-Refai said there are no bases or camps for the Islamic Jihad in Syria or Lebanon or any place outside the occupied territories.

Palestinian sources in Beirut said that Israeli warplanes raided a location for the Palestinian groups near Damascus and this resulted in wounding one person. The sources explained that the raid "targeted a vacant training camp for the People's Front for the Liberation of Palestine in Ein al-Saheb area, 20 Km to northern West Damascus."

Commenting on the Israeli attack, the Syrian analysist Imad al-Sheibi told the Qatari al-Jazeera TV that available information stated that the attack was on a camp for the Palestinian refugees in Ein al-Saheb area on the Syrian- Lebanese borders, and there are no bases nor even information centers for the Islamic Jihad in Syria nor in the area which was exposed the bombardment.

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