Israel's Syria sortie ill-advised

Syrian-Israeli tensions appeared to be easing Friday after an Israeli military over-flight of Syrian territory threatened to spark the confrontation analysts have warned of in recent months.

It was revealed on Thursday that Israeli Air Force jets had crossed into Syrian territory via the Mediterranean at around midnight on Wednesday.

Syrian anti-aircraft defenses fired on the Israeli aircraft at Tell Al-Abyad, near the Turkish border after they had flown deep into Syrian territory.

The Syrian army reported that the planes "dropped munitions" on Syrian territory before returning to Israel. Rather than an attack, the ammunition dump may have been an effort to increase the maneuverability of the planes under fire.

There were no reports as to whether newly acquired Russian anti-aircraft missile systems were involved in the incident, although this appears unlikely given the concentration of Syrian air defenses around Damascus and along the Golan Heights ceasefire line.

Syria is making ongoing efforts to bolster its anti-aircraft defenses, receiving delivery in August of sophisticated Pantsyr-S1E anti-aircraft missiles from Russia and, in June, of five MiG-31E interceptors.

Syrian officials said Thursday that they were considering their response to the infiltration, which is likely to include efforts to secure a denunciation of Israeli over-flights at the UN.

The Baathist regime is seeking rehabilitation on the international stage, through the resumption of severed diplomatic ties with the US and an easing of frosty relations with regional rival Saudi Arabia and has a clear interest in preventing the incident from being blown out of proportion, while emphasizing its sovereign rights.

Thursday's over-flight is not the first. There have been repeated reports of regular Israeli sorties over Syrian territory - confirmed by Israeli Science, Sport and Culture Minister Ghaleb Majadele on Friday.

Two Israeli fighters buzzed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's summer residence in the Syrian Mediterranean port of Latakia on 28 June 2006. On 5 October 2003, Israeli warplanes attacked a Palestinian militant base deep inside Syrian territory following a suicide bombing the day before in Haifa.

Israeli defense and political leaders have explained past sorties as reminders to the Syrian government that Israel held it responsible for the actions of militants it allegedly funds and arms.

The Israeli Air Force has continued its daily reconnaissance flights over Lebanese territory since the July-August 2006 war, despite protests from UN Interim Force In Lebanon peacekeepers stationed in the south of the country and Fuad Siniora government.

The Israeli over-flight came amid signs that the recent military buildup on the Golan Heights was being reversed by both sides, with Israel calling off planned large-scale maneuvers on the Golan and Syria reportedly standing down forces.

In a further indication that Israel does not foresee an imminent war with Syria, the Israeli government has launched a campaign for citizens to return gas masks distributed during previous regional crises.

Israel is prioritizing spending on anti-missile research projects but still appears a long way from finding a solution to the firing of primitive rockets from Gaza, let-alone advanced Hizbollah and Syrian missile systems.

It is this fact, and the attendant governmental failure to channel funding toward civilian missile protection, despite the demonstrated inadequacies of current measures, that is a significant rein on Israeli threat postures on the Golan and Lebanese borders.

For its part, Syria knows that, despite intimations by al-Assad and other prominent figures of a willingness to consider alternatives should Israel refuse to negotiate on the Golan, the Syrian military would be overmatched in battle with Israeli forces and that a military defeat co