The Syrian government's behavior last week, on 5 June, was more cynical than usual. While its forces mowed down antigovernment protesters in the north of the country—human rights groups said there were thirty-five dead that day alone—hundreds of unarmed men were mobilized to storm across the Israeli border to the south, into the Golan Heights. The Golan Heights incidents were clearly organized at least in part to divert local and world attention away from the ongoing internal bloodbath (human-rights groups claim that some 1500 Syrians have so far been killed by the country's security services and army in the past two months).
As intended and expected, IDF troops on the border responded with tear gas and live rounds to drive back the would-be trespassers, wounding and killing dozens. The troops, Israel announced, fired very selectively and aimed at demonstrators' legs. The Syrians officially announced twenty-two dead and three hundred and fifty wounded—a report that should be taken with a grain of salt, like many Arab government pronouncements. The Syrians were clearly interested in exaggerating the number of actual casualties.
Read Full Article »