From Haaretz, 12/9/07, by Barak Ravid, Avi Issacharoff and Amos Harel:
Israel targeted weapons intended for delivery to Hezbollah inside Syria a week ago, the CNN television network reported Tuesday. Senior correspondent Christian Amanpour, citing Middle Eastern and Washington sources, said aircraft and ground forces, which directed the planes to their target, took part in the operation. The attack left "a big hole in the desert," the report said.
CNN quoted American sources as saying that the air strike had targeted a weapons shipment from Syria to Hezbollah, or from Iran to Hezbollah, passing through Syria. "The Israeli government is very happy with the success of the operation," CNN reported, citing sources both in the United States and the region. U.S. government and military sources said they were "happy to have Israel convey to both Syria and Iran the message that they can get in and out and strike when necessary."
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's aides said they were not interested in commenting on the incident....
.... Syria complained Tuesday to the United Nations about "aggression and violation of sovereignty," the country's ambassador to the UN said. Syria's UN envoy, Bashar al-Jaafari .....said Israel had violated Syrian air space and dropped munitions. But he denied that Israel had landed troops on the ground inside Syria. "This is absolutely not true," he said, adding the reports were an attempt to show that Israel could land troops wherever it wants.
.... The silence of the Untied States, Europe and especially the Arab world .... raises questions. Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia did not denounce Israel, nor did they issue any statement on the subject. The only countries who expressed solidarity with Syria were Iran and North Korea. Russia issued a condemnation of sorts. Turkey issued a critical statement and requested clarifications. In Ankara's case, however, its close strategic cooperation with Israel makes it unlikely the Turks were really surprised by the incident.
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