Israel's Barak: We'll block Syrian refugees from entering Golan Heights

Israel's defense minister Ehud Barak says Israel will stop Syrian refugees from entering the Golan Heights if they try to flee there.

"We will block the influx of refugees," Barak said in a statement during an inspection tour there.

Israel took occupation of the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war.

Barak also said that the Israeli army was “ready to confront any danger which could follow the fall of the Syrian regime,” the Israeli channel 2 reported.

However, Israeli officials closely monitor the deteriorating situation in neighboring Syria and they are worried about a possible overflow beyond the border, following the suicide bombing that killed four strongmen of Assad's regime.

The deteriorating situation in Syria worried Israel also because of the presence of jihadists there who might use the chaos to attack Israel as Egypt's Sinai peninsula.

In January, head of the Israeli general staff Benny Gantz said that it was preparing to take in Syrian refugees from Assad's minority Alawite sect who might flee if he fell.

According to Al-arabiya TV, a senior Israeli officer told journalists that the Syrian regime forces are shelling areas adjacent to the Golan Heights. So Israel has placed its military on high alert and canceled all weekend leaves out of concern the fighting could spill over into Israel.

In Damascus, Syrian state television aired footage on Thursday of President Bashar al-Assad swearing in new defense minister Fahad Jassim al-Freij, the first images of the president since a bomb attack on Wednesday.

In the images broadcast by the television, Assad was seen in blue suit, receiving the new defense minister, Gen. Fahd Al-Freij, after the swearing ceremony. The photos released by the official SANA news agency were taken at the presidential palace in Damascus.

A Syrian official source for his part said Assad was at the presidential palace in Damascus, where heavy fighting took place between rebels and soldiers for the past few days.

Furthermore, official SANA news agency reported that regime forces retook control of the al-Midan neighborhood in Damascus and the Silqin area in Idlib as they also managed to recapture the al-Bukamal area near the Iraqi border as well as Bab al-Hawa close to the Turkish border.

Earlier, Al-arabiya TV reported that Free Syrian Army seized control of three crossings on the border with neighboring Turkey and one crossing on the border with Iraq.

More as it becomes available.

Source: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2012/Jul-20/181253-israel-to-block-syrian-refugees-from-entering-golan-heights.ashx#axzz217RtrrAj