Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Ron Prosor, on Saturday night called on the Security Council to condemn Thursday’s rocket fire from Syria on the Golan Heights.
“Following the events on the Syrian border, the UN, as usual, called on both sides to exercise restraint. How is it possible that even while Iran’s fingerprints and DNA can be found all over the crime scene, the UN can’t find the courage to condemn it?” he said in a statement.
“On Thursday, in the late afternoon, four rockets were fired from Syrian territory and struck the Northern Galilee and the Golan Heights in Israel. This was an indiscriminate and premeditated terrorist attack against Israeli territory without any provocation from the Israeli side. It is important to emphasize that the launching of these rockets is not a spillover from the ongoing war in Syria, but a deliberate attack on Israel,” Prosor said.
“We have credible information that the attack was carried out by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad organization and was facilitated and directed by an Iranian operative, Saeed Izaadhi, who heads the Palestinian unit in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Qods force. This is another clear and blatant demonstration of Iran’s continued and unabated support and involvement in terrorist attacks against Israel and in the region in general.”
“These attacks are in blatant violation of the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement. The government of Israel holds Syria responsible for this and all other attacks emanating from its territory, and holds Iran responsible for orchestrating this attack,” said the Israeli envoy.
“The ink has not yet dried on the JCPOA nuclear agreement, and Iran has already provided a clear indication that it will continue to act to destabilize the region. These acts are in complete violation of UNSCR 1373 and other mandatory UN Security Council resolutions. They offer a clear indication that Iran cannot be trusted to meet its commitments under the JCPOA and UNSCR 2231 that endorsed the plan of action,” he pointed out.
“I call on the Security Council to publicly condemn these attacks, to hold Syria responsible, and to denounce Iran for its active and direct role in perpetrating acts of terror throughout the region. Just as this attack is not business as usual, your response to it cannot be the usual call for both sides to show restraint. This deliberate and unprovoked attack is the act of one side, and one side only,” said Prosor.
Overnight Thursday, following the rocket fire, the IDF struck 14 targets in Syria. On Friday morning, the army announced that it had eliminated the Islamic Jihad terrorist cell that launched the four rockets from Syria.
Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said Thursday night the rocket fire “was carried out by a terrorist cell of the Islamic Jihad, operated, funded and armed by Iran. The shooting took place from territory controlled by the [Bashar Al-]Assad regime, which allows terrorist activity against Israel, and we consider it responsible.”
Ya’alon also warned that the rocket attack was only the “promo” to what Iran would do once the sanctions on it are lifted as part of the nuclear agreement.
