Palestinian group claims Golan attack

Source : Maan News Agency

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The Abdul Qader al- Husseini brigades on Thursday claimed responsibility for an attack from Syria on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

The military wing of the Free Palestine Movement said it had received permission from Syria to launch the attack, following recent Israeli attacks on Syria.

The brigades said in a statement that militants fired projectiles at dawn on Wednesday to mark the anniversary of the Nakba -- or catastrophe -- of Israel's founding in 1948, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forced or fled from their homes.

"We are avenging all our martyrs that we lost in our war with the Zionist enemy," the brigades said in a statement.

The group posted a video online showing what it says is footage of the attack. Ma'an is unable to verify the  content of the footage.

Israel's military said several rockets fired from Syria landed in the occupied Golan Heights on Wednesday.

"Around 6 a.m. several rockets landed in the Hermon area on the Syria-Israel border," an Israeli army spokeswoman told Ma'an.

"As a result, the site has been closed to visitors and Israel has registered a complaint with the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force. The incident is most likely related to the internal conflict," she added.

No injuries or damage were reported.

Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said last week that Israel was not getting involved in Syria's internal conflict. It has, however, carried out several targeted strikes in Syria.

Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in a 1967 war and later annexed it in a move never recognized internationally.

Technically, Syria and Israel are still at war, but the Golan, a strategic plateau, has been largely quiet for decades.