...Three Syrian tanks (click here) entered the demilitarised zone in the Golan Heights on Saturday, Israel said, raising concerns violence from Syria's civil war could heat up a long-quiet frontier that has not seen such an incursion in nearly 40 years.
Israel complained to UN peacekeepers present in the area, a relatively low-key response that suggested it did not see the Syrian armor as an immediate threat. But the entry marks the most serious spillover of Syria's turmoil to date at the frontier, where stray ordnance has exploded on the Israeli side in the past.
Neighbouring countries are dealing with a variety of incidents linked to the conflict Turkey exchanged artillery fire with Syria for a week last month, while Jordan has seen several shootings at the border and clashes linked to the uprising against President Bashar Assad have broken out in Lebanon....
By YAAKOV LAPPIN, JPOST.COM STAFF
11/03/2012 16:27
Defense establishment believes move was related to infighting, IDF lodges UN complaint, waits for it to oversee withdrawal.
Nevertheless, the IDF raised its alert level in the Golan Heights region.
...The Northern Command has been on the lookout for such a development since Syrian infighting approached the Israeli border several months ago. The Northern Command remains committed to a policy of zero-tolerance to challenges to Israeli sovereignty from Syria.
In October, the IDF evacuated tourists from the top of Mount Hermon after sighting dozens of Syrians – many of them with guns – in civilian clothing approaching the border.
The suspects, who may have been rebels, did not infiltrate the border, and stopped their approach to the fence some 500 meters away from the international boundary....
