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| Syrian Attacts on Civilian Targets in Israel 1949-1967 |
| Based on a paper published by the Government Press Office on October 13, 1994 Between the signing of the Syrian-Israeli cease-fire agreement in 1949 and the 1967 Six Day War, Israelis living in the northern part of the country were consistently subjected to unprovoked attacks by Syrian forces located on the Golan Heights. These attacks took many forms, including the shelling of the communities; Syrian snipers shooting at Israeli fishermen on the sea of Galilee and attempts by Syrian forces to occupy Israeli territory. The strategic location of Syrian troops on the Golan overlooks Israel's agricultural heartland and largest reservoir of fresh water, the sea of Galilee which is known in Israel as Lake Kinneret, meant that the Israelis were literally forced to live "under the gun" - their children lived in shelters; their crops burned in the fields and their communities were repeatedly attacked. As a result of Israel's capture of the Golan Heights, in a war forced upon it by Syria, thousands of Israeli men, women and children were finally able to live without fear of being shelled or shot at random by the Syrian army. Against this background, it is therefore surprising that Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk a-Shara said on Israel television (Oct. 7, 1994) that "Syria has never shelled a civilian target in Israel". He later told a press conference that "Israel is the one which opened fire in all the conflicts with Syria and we focused on self-defense". The facts show otherwise. The following is a brief overview of the historical record of Syrian attacks on civilian targets in Israel between 1949 and 1967. This data presents a representative, but not exhaustive, summary of these incidents. 1951 March: Syrian troops fired at Israeli workers building the Hula Drainage Project. May: Syrian army forces crossed into Israel at El-Hamma, in the southern demilitarized zone, killed 7 Israeli policemen and occupied the area. December: Several Israeli fishermen were shot and killed on Lake Kinneret (which was wholly within Israeli territory according to the 1949 cease-fire agreement). 1952 February: 3 fishermen captured and put in a Syrian prison while fishing in the Hula Lake. June: Israeli boat was blown off course to the eastern shore of Lake Kinneret and 8 passengers were put in a Syrian prison. 1953 June: Kibbutz member shot and killed near Kibbutz Ein Gev. December: Syrians opened fire on boat on Lake Kinneret. 1954 December: Syrians fired at farmers working in the fields of Ha'on and Tel Katzir. 1955 January to December: Syrians fired at farmers working in the fields of Kibbutz Ha'on and Kibbutz Tel Katzir; Syrian forces fired at Israeli fishing boats on Lake Kinneret 20 times; Syrians occupied sections of the shoreline 11 times; Syrian forces fired on Israeli villages and/or farm workers 44 times; Syrians fired at Israeli police 11 times; and Syrian troops invaded Israeli territory 9 times. On December 10th, Syrian gunners heavily shelled several Israeli villages as well as fishermen on Lake Kinneret. 1956 November: A tractor was blown up by a Syrian mine at Kibbutz Gadot. 1957 May 4-5: Syrians fired at Israeli fishermen on Lake Kinneret - 4 were wounded. June 16: A Syrian sniper shot and killed an Israeli man near Moshav Mishmar Ha'yarden. July 9: A Syrian attack near Kibbutz Gonen killed one resident and wounded seven. November: Syrians fired at Israeli workers near Kibbutz Sha'ar Ha'golan. November: Syrian fire at Moshav She'ar Yeshuv killed a tractor driver. December: Syrian fire killed a resident of Kibbutz Gadot. 1958 March 20: Syrian troops fired at Israeli workers engaged in expansion of the Jordan River bed. March: Syrians shelled JNF workers in the area of Kibbutz Hulata and Moshav Mishmar Ha'yarden; killing one and wounding three. July 2: Syrian gunners shelled Kibbutz Ashmura. November: Syrian gunners fired over 1000 shells at Israeli villages in the Hula Valley. December: Syrians shelled Israeli villages in the Hula Valley, wounding 31. 1959 January: A Syrian sniper shot and killed a shepherd from Kibbutz Lehavot Ha'bashan. April 17: A Syrian sniper shot and killed a fisherman on Lake Kinneret. 1960 January: Syrians fired at Kibbutz Tel Katzir, killing one. July 11: A member of Kibbutz Tel Katzir wounded by Syrian fire while plowing a field. August: Syrian fire on Kibbutz Shamir damaged the medical center and the baby-house. 1961 March 8: Syrians shot at an Israeli tractor driver near Moshav She'ar Yeshuv. 1962 & 1963 Professor Howard M.Sachar writes in his HISTORY OF ISRAEL: "Firing from the Golan... became so persistent that the Israelis used armored tractors as standard equipment. During an especially heavy clash in the Almagor region, in August 1963, several Israeli drivers were killed. The United Nations Truce Supervisory Organization promptly confirmed Syria's guilt." 1964 November: Syrian soldiers fired at Israeli workers near the Dan River. November: Syrian gunners heavily shelled the Kibbutzim Dan, She'ar Yeshuv and Dafna. December: Syrian fire killed a worker near Kibbutz Ashmura. 1965 July 18: Syrians fired at fields belonging to Kibbutz Tel Katzir. August 12: Syrians fired at the Israeli Bedouin village of Arab Zangariya. 1966 February: Syrians shelled tractors in fields between Gadot and Hulata. February: Syrians fired upon fields belonging to Ha'on and Tel Katzir. February: Syrians fired at a tractor at Kibbutz Ha'on. March 29-30: Syrian fire wounded 2 tractor drivers near Kibbutz Ha'on. April 7: Syrians heavily shelled several Israeli villages. April 30: Syrian machine gun fire wounded 4 Israeli workers at Kibbutz Ashmura. May 16: Two Israelis killed when driving over a Syrian mine south of Moshav Almagor. June 5: Syrians shelled workers in fields at Kibbutz Ashmura. June 6: Syrian shells set fields on fire at Ashmura. July 12: Syrian mine injured a tractor driver at Kibbutz Mahanayim. Another mine at Moshav Almagor killed a forestry official. September: Syrian forces fired at Israeli fishing boat on the Lake Kinneret. October 22: Syrians shot at a tractor driver at Kibbutz Ha'on. 1967 January 1: Syrians fired at tractors at Kibbutz Ha'on. January 4: Syrians shots were fired at a farmer at Kibbutz Ein Gev. January 7: Syrians shelled Moshav Almagor. January 8: Syrians shelled Kibbutz Notera. January 14: An off-duty Israeli soldier was killed by a Syrian mine while watching a football match at Moshav Dishon. February 15: Syrians fired at a tractor at Notera. March 4: Syrian mine at Kibbutz Shamir injured a tractor driver. April 3: Syrian shells started a fire at Ha'on. April 8: Syrian shells killed 8 cows at a dairy at Ein Gev; boats were shelled at Lake Kinneret; and 200 Syrian heavy mortar shells fell on Gadot. April 11: Syrians shelled a tractor at Tel Katzir. April 14: Farmer wounded by Syrian fire at Kibbutz Gonen. April 16: Syrian gunners fired at fields of Kibbutz Ha'on. June 6-9: Syrian gunners shelled Kibbutz Tel Katzir, destroying its dining-hall. ADDITIONAL FACTS It is necessary to understand Syria's borders in order to understand these acts of aggression: * Syria inherited its borders from the French Mandate in 1946. * The borders were drawn in an agreement between Britain and France in 1923. * Syria, holding on to the concept of Greater Syria, did not accept these borders, particularly not the one with Israel, a country Syria still does not recognize. * In 1948, after Israel declared its independence, Syria attacked from the Golan Heights. * On July 20, 1949, a cease-fire agreement was signed between Israel and Syria. Sources * THE DENT ATLAS OF THE ARAB-ISRAELI CONFLICT by Martin Gilbert. * A HISTORY OF ISRAEL by Howard M. Sachar. * SYRIAN VIOLATIONS OF ISRAELI SOVEREIGNTY by the Foreign Ministry Information Dept. * CARTA'S ATLAS OF ISRAEL: THE SECOND DECADE 1961-1971 * Information was also supplied by Mrs. Asaf Agin, supervisor of the Emek Hayarden Regional Council Archives; the IDF Spokesman's office; and Mr. Arik Lubovsky of the Dubrovin Farm Museum at Yesod Hama'ala in the Hula Valley. |
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