Syria: Israeli planes attacked. Jerusalem remains mum

Syria is weighing its response to an alleged Israeli violation of its airspace early yesterday, Syrian Information Minister Mohsen Bilal announced yesterday afternoon.

"Syria reserves the right to determine the quality, type and nature of our response to the Israeli attack. The Syrian leadership is seriously considering its response," he told Al Jazeera television.

The Syrian deputy prime minister, Farouk Shara, was quoted by the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) as saying that the incident shows that Israel seeks "to create tension" in the region.

Thus far, however, the Syrian reaction has not exceeded its usual response to Israel Air Force overflights of the country in recent years, or its response to Israel's 2003 attack on a Palestinian training camp near Damascus: It was strictly declarative, consisting of Bilal's interview on Al Jazeera and interviews that Syrian commentators identified with the establishment gave to other television networks. Many of these commentators hinted that Syria would not respond militarily.

One commentator, Faiz al-Sayeg, said that should there be a repeat incident, Syria would determine its response based on the circumstances. "Syria will not be drawn into an inconsequential stand-off at this unfavorable time and place," Sayeg told the Hezbollah-owned television station Al Manar. But he added that Israel knows full well that "the Syria of today is different from the Syria of yesterday," particularly in the aftermath of the Second Lebanon War, and warned Israel's leaders to rethink their steps in light of what happened in that war.

The first official Syrian announcement came at 2:40 P.M. yesterday. A statement carried on SANA and Syrian television said that the Israel Air Force had penetrated Syrian airspace from the direction of the Mediterranean Sea shortly after midnight and carried out a sortie over the country's north. Anti-aircraft fire forced it to leave.

The statement did not specify whether one or more aircraft had violated Syrian airspace. Nor did it say whether the aircraft had dropped ammunition or merely dumped equipment to ease maneuvering en route back from Syrian airspace.

Syrian commentators opined that the announcement was delayed due to the leadership's need to consider various complex issues related to its handling of the media and the response the country should make.

Dr. Imad Fawzi Shoaibi, who heads the strategic research center in Damascus, said that Israel was testing Syria's military strength. "Israel uses force to ascertain Syria's capability, and has done so in the past," he said.

Arab media outlets brought military commentators to speculate about the purpose of the overflights. Some said Israel is seeking flight routes through Syria's heartland that would elude Syrian radar. Another option: Israel is operating in the Syrian-Turkish border region to signal both countries that it is not interested in advancing the peace process.