One flew over Syria, but was it one from the cocoos nest?

Hier nur einige Medieninhalte, denn solange die israelische Seite keinerlei Kommentar abgibt darf man den Berichten noch nicht so richtig trauen. Zuvor Yoav Stern über die Konsequenzen: The question is, how will Syria respond? Much has been spoken and written about the "hot summer" in the Middle East. Israel, Syria and Lebanon have in the last few months disseminated reports and rumors on preparations for war, with both sides issuing accompanying warnings. And today, we were party to the first significant military escalation in the region for more than a year.
So is this the outbreak of war? According to reports in Syria, this was clearly an isolated incident, not part of a battle or war. Nevertheless, the incident does raise a number of questions. And even though this could well be a one-off that will for the time being not develop into anything more, it does send shockwaves across the region. Every Arab media outlet is giving it intense attention, simply because in the Mideast every incident can have unexpected consequences.

Israelische Militärvertreter haben syrische Berichte über einen Luftangriff auf das Nachbarland zurückgewiesen.

"Der Vorfall hat sich niemals ereignet", sagte ein nicht namentlich genannter Armeesprecher am Donnerstag dem Radiosender Israel.

Zuvor hatte die amtliche syrische Nachrichtenagentur Sana gemeldet, israelische Flugzeuge hätten Ziele in Syrien bombardiert. Dabei sei niemand verletzt worden. Die syrische Flugabwehr sei aktiviert worden und habe auf die Flugzeuge gefeuert. Die Agentur meldete nicht, welche Ziele angegriffen worden seien. Das Land behalte sich aber das Recht vor zu reagieren, hieß es. Augenzeugen berichteten, sie hätten nahe der syrisch-türkischen Grenze, rund 160 Kilometer nördlich der Stadt Rakka, mindestens fünf Flugzeuge gehört. Die Maschinen seien dann in südlicher Richtung weitergeflogen.

The Syrian army said Thursday that its air defenses fired on an Israel Air Force warplane that entered Syria airspace and "dropped ammunition," the country's official news agency reported. The Israel Defense Forces said it would have no comment on the Syrian reports. "It is not our custom to respond to these kinds of reports," the IDF Spokesman's Office said in a statement. A spokeswoman for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert also said there would be no comment beyond the military statement. Syrian air defenses fired at the incoming plane, which crossed into Syria after midnight local time, the Syrian news agency said. The Syrian Army spokesman, quoted by the official Syrian Arab News Agency, did not say how the military fired on the aircraft, but confirmed that the incident occurred at midnight Wednesday night. "We warn the Israeli enemy government against this flagrant aggressive act, and retain the right to respond in an appropriate way," the spokesman said. "The Israeli enemy aircraft infiltrated into the Arab Syrian territory through the northern border, coming from the Mediterranean heading toward the eastern region, breaking the sound barrier," the Syrian spokesman said. "Air defense units confronted them and forced them to leave after they dropped some ammunition in deserted areas without causing any human or material damage." Syrian Cabinet Minister Buthaina Shaaban, speaking on Al-Jazeera television's English service, would not confirm that Israel had attacked Syria, but did say the aircraft violated the country's airspace. "We are a sovereign country. They cannot do that," said Shaaban. Al-Arabiya television reported that the air strike occured in north-eastern Syria, close to the border with Turkey. A Syrian analyst told Hebzollah's Al-Manar television that the plane was likely dumping ammunition in order to maneuver, and was not carrying out a bombing raid.