By
IAN DEITCH, Associated Press
Updated
9:22 am, Tuesday, December 3, 2013
JERUSALEM
(AP) — Israel acknowledged for the first time Tuesday that it is providing
humanitarian aid to victims of the civil war inside neighboring Syria, saying
it has funneled food and other emergency supplies to embattled villages just
across the frontier.
Defense
Minister Moshe
Yaalon made the announcement during a visit to the Israeli-controlled side
of the Golan Heights. Syrian troops and rebels have been clashing in the area
for months, and hundreds of civilians have fled especially heavy fighting to
neighboring Lebanon in recent days.
"We can't sit by and watch the
humanitarian difficulties on the other side," Yaalon said. "We've
transferred water, food, including baby food, taking into consideration that
these villages are besieged and they don't have access to any other place. So
therefore yes, we are assisting with humanitarian aid along the fence."
Israel and Syria are bitter enemies, and
Israel has avoided taking sides in the Syrian fighting that pits President Bashar
Assad's government against rebels seeking to oust it. Still, dozens of
wounded Syrians have been treated at Israeli hospitals. Last month, a pregnant
Syrian woman escaping the bloodshed gave birth in an Israeli hospital.
Yaalon's statement was the first time Israel has acknowledged sending supplies
into the battle zone.
An Israeli defense official said the
shipments have been going on for several months. He said much of the aid has
been transferred through the United Nations, and other supplies are placed
along the frontier so needy Syrians can get them directly.
The Israelis have not tried to hide the
origin of the goods, and some items, including medicine and diapers, are made
in Israel and have Hebrew writing on them, the official said, speaking on
condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release
the information.
Israel has been carefully monitoring the
Syrian war since it erupted in March 2011. While relations are hostile, the
ruling Assad family has kept the border area with Israel quiet for most of the
past 40 years. Israel is concerned that Assad's ouster could push the country
into the hands of militant Islamic extremists or sectarian warfare,
destabilizing the region. More than 100,000 people have been killed since the conflict
began in March 2011, according to U.N. estimates.
The Syrian fighting, mostly errant fire,
sometimes spills over into Israeli border communities, damaging property and
crops, spreading panic and sparking fires. Israel occasionally retaliates.
Israel is also believed to have carried out
several airstrikes on several weapons shipments headed to the pro-Syrian Hezbollah
group in Lebanon. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied the airstrikes.
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