Syrian Army Fires into Israel Killing Teen; Israel Pounds 9 Syrian Positions in Return

In an incident the Israeli prime minister is calling “murder,” an Israeli teen was killed by Syrian army artillery fire on the Golan Heights on Sunday. The shelling was the latest in a series of cross-border provocations, most of which have been ignored by the Israeli military. But the death of a 13-year old boy was met by at least 9 sorties by air force jets attacking targets including Syrian army firing positions, command posts and the headquarters of the Syrian army’s 90th division located in the Golan Heights city of Quneitra. Speaking to an assemblage of Jewish media in Jerusalem, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu condemned “the murder of a 13-year old boy on the Golan Heights.” Earlier in the day, the prime minister told his weekly cabinet meeting that there is “unequivocal proof” that Hamas is responsible for the kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers. He said the proof is being shared with “several countries” and will be made public shortly. Defense writers are reporting that the army sweep-search for the kidnap victims has run its course unsuccessfully and the focus will now switch to intelligence gathering, due in part to the growing confrontations between army units and Palestinian civilians. Five have been killed since the operation began. On Sunday, the Palestinian Authority announced it would begin the process of asking the United Nations Security Council to take action to end the Israeli campaign in the West Bank, calling it “collective punishment.”