Syria Rockets Hit Golan Shortly after Israel PM Visit
Two rockets fired from war-torn Syria struck the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights Tuesday shortly after a secret visit to the area by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the army said.
"Two rockets fire from Syria struck the central Golan without causing injuries or damage," a spokeswoman told AFP.
The incident occurred shortly after Netanyahu toured the area with Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon and army chief Lieutenant General Benny Gantz, visiting a field hospital close to the ceasefire line where injured Syrians are being treated.
The premier used the visit to lash out at Iran, as it began a fresh round of talks with world powers in Vienna aimed at reaching a comprehensive accord to roll back Tehran's contested nuclear program.
"On the day when talks between the major powers and Iran are being opened in Vienna, it is important that the world sees the pictures from this place, which divides the good that is in the world from the bad," said Netanyahu in remarks communicated by his office.
The talks aim to follow up on a landmark interim deal struck in November and fiercely opposed by Israeli under which Iran is scaling back certain nuclear activities in exchange for minor relief from sanctions.
"Iran is arming those who are carrying out the slaughter," said Netanyahu.
"All of the children who have been injured, to say nothing of those who have been killed, were injured as a result of Iran's arming, financing and training" the regime of President Bashar Assad , he charged.
"I would like to tell the world, today, as the talks between the major powers and Iran are being resumed, that Iran has changed neither its aggressive policy nor its brutal character," he said.
"This is the true face of Iran. The world cannot forget this."
Israel, which is technically at war with Syria, seized 1,200 square kilometers (460 square miles) of the strategic plateau during the 1967 Six Day War and later annexed it in a move never recognized by the international community.
Since the Syrian conflict erupted in 2011, the plateau has been tense, with a growing number of stray projectiles hitting the Israeli side, prompting an occasional armed response.
Source: Agence France Presse
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