Syria reserves right to respond to Israeli aggression on its soil: FM Mikdad

Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mikdad has slammed an Israeli missile attack, which targeted the town of Masyaf in the central province of Hama, saying Damascus reserves the right to give a proper and lawful response to the aggression.

In a Sunday message of protest to the United Nations Secretary General António Guterres, the Syrian foreign minister added that his country would respond to the recent Israeli aggression by appropriate means recognized by international law and the United Nations Charter, Syria’s official news agency SANA reported.

He warned that continued Israeli attacks against Syria have reached a “systematic” level, stressing the need for swift action by the General Secretariat and the Security Council in order to protect and preserve the Agreement on Disengagement signed between Israel and Syria in 1974 under the UN auspices.

The top Syrian diplomat emphasized that his country’s position is based on the rejection of aggression and actions that endanger peace and security in the Middle East.

Syria has always warned about the consequences of the continuous Israeli aggression on international peace and security and believes that they constitute a violation of the principles of international law, Mikdad said.

He added that the world’s failure to condemn Israel’s repeated attacks encourages the regime to persist, continue and expand its aggression against the Syrian territory and tests the credibility of the UN and the effectiveness of its competent bodies and agencies.

Syrian media outlets reported on Saturday that the Syrian air defenses have repelled the Israeli missile attack.

Syrian air defenses repel Israeli aggression over town of Masyaf in Hama province

Syrian air defenses repel Israeli aggression over town of Masyaf in central province of Hama.

The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London-based group that has close ties to the Syrian opposition, said explosions were heard in the town of Masyaf and nearby areas in the west of government-controlled Hama province.

It said the strikes were the eighth by the Israeli regime against Syria so far this year.

Syria and the Israeli regime are technically at war due to the latter’s 1967-to-present occupation of Syria’s Golan Heights.

Israel maintains a significant military presence in the territory, which it uses as one of its launchpads for attacks against Syrian soil.

On countless occasions, though, the strikes have targeted reinforcement belonging to Syria’s military and its allies.

The Tel Aviv regime mostly keeps quiet about its attacks on the Syrian territories, which many view as a knee-jerk reaction to the Syrian government’s increasing success in confronting terrorism.

Israel has been a key supporter of terrorist groups that have opposed the government of President Bashar al-Assad since the foreign-backed conflict erupted in Syria in March 2011.

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