Israel's role in the Syrian Civil War has been limited, compared to the role of other regional and international actors. Israeli official position is neutrality in the conflict. The Minister of Defense of Israel claimed during 2015 that "...On a strategic level, in other words, we are not intervening on anyone's behalf."
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Background
Israel and Syria did not establish diplomatic relations since the creation of both countries in the mid-20th century. The countries fought three major wars, the 1948 Arab Israeli War, the Six-Day War in 1967 and the Yom Kippur War in 1973. Both countries were later also involved in the Lebanese Civil War and the 1982 Lebanon War.
Prior to the 1967 Six-Day War, there were intense hostilities centered on the Demilitarized Zones, water issues and both shelling and infiltration from the Golan Heights, which then were annexed by Israel. The requirement of returning territories was stipulated in UN Security Council Resolution 242, but the situation was further cemented by Syria's largely unsuccessful 1973 Yom Kippur War, which lead to a ceasefire line that has largely been respected by both sides, though violated by the Hezbollah.
Incidents on the Israeli-Syrian ceasefire line and neutral zone
There have been clashes with Israeli soldiers on the ceasefire line in the Golan Heights, leading the UN Security Council to express "grave concern at all violations of the Disengagement of Forces Agreement." and generating fears of a Hezbollah invasion of Israel from there. In late 2012, ceasefire line tensions between Israel and Syria escalated. On 25 September 2012, several mortar shells landed in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, landing in an open area adjacent to the ceasefire line fence. Overall, throughout October and early November, several Syrian mortar and light artillery shells hit the Golan Heights. One mortar round may have been responsible for a brushfire that erupted in the area. On 3 November, three Syrian tanks entered the demilitarized zone in the central Golan Heights as a number of mortar shells were fired into the area. On 5 November, an Israeli army jeep was damaged by Syrian army gunfire as it patrolled the ceasefire line. On 11 November, after a Syrian 120 mm mortar round hit the eastern Golan Heights, the Israeli army responded by firing an electro-optic anti-tank missile in the direction of a Syrian mortar crew, but they deliberately missed them, intending it as a warning shot. On 12 November, another Syrian mortar shell struck the Golan Heights, and Israeli tanks deployed along the ceasefire line responded by targeting two Syrian mortar launchers. A direct hit was confirmed.
On March 2014, an Israeli patrol jeep landed on an explosive cargo near Majdal Shams during a daily patrol. In response, the IDF fired 155 mm artillery shells on a Syrian outpost, and later that day, the Israeli air force bombed more Syrian settlements. This had happened a few days after another similar clash near the border of Lebanon that had also been responded in artillery and tanks fire by Israel. Israel blamed Hezbollah for both incidents.
On Sunday, July 14, 2013, a shell fired from Syria, where insurgents and government troops are locked in fierce fighting, exploded in the Israeli-occupied part of the Golan Heights plateau.
In late August, Islamic militants began shelling the Golan Heights from Syria, and fierce fighting along the Syrian/Golan front resulted in gunfire and rockets piercing the de facto border, sparking Israeli involvement. The UN-only ceasefire line crossing was captured by Islamist troops, injuring two Israeli officers with mislead shootings. In the aftermath, UN troops fled their posts and crossed into Israeli-occupied territory.
On September 23, 2014, an errant Syrian Air Force jet strayed over the Golan Heights, and was shot down by Israeli forces, the first time this has happened since the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
Alleged Israeli airstrikes against targets in Syria
On the course of the Syrian Civil War, some sources have accused Israel of perpetrating several incidents, deep within Syrian territories. The first incident of this kind took place on January 30, 2013, when Israeli aircraft were accused of allegedly striking a Syrian convoy transporting Iranian weapons to Hezbollah. Some of those reports were confirmed by the Syrian Arab Republic, whereas others denied. Israel systematically refused to comment on alleged targeting of Hezbollah and Ba'athist targets in Syrian territory.