Regional press worried by Israeli strikes on Syria

Syria says Israel launched strikes on a research institute, facilities near the Lebanese border, and a military airport

The Israeli attacks inside Syria have caused widespread concern among newspapers in the region.

A Syrian pro-government daily sees a "conspiracy" to bring the country to its knees, while an Israeli paper suggests the country has made itself a "perceived ally" of the Syrian rebels.

Elsewhere there are warnings of a "violation of international law", a "destructive regional war" and even the opening of the "gates of hell".

Syria's ruling party organ Al-Ba'th:

"The escalation in the conspiracy confirms that the enemy - which thinks that its logistical and political support for the opposition and the arms it has supplied to it are enough to bring Syria to its knees - has failed to achieve its goals... It requires that the Syrian people, the government and the armed forces step up resistance and promote national unity. Syria will actively work on resisting the Zionist occupation and will continue to resist terrorism in all its forms."

Editorial in Syria's Qasyun, a pro-government newspaper published by the Syrian Communist Party:

"This aggression proves once again the entrenched Israeli-US intentions towards the Syrian land, people, armed forces and institutions... This aggression is an external attempt that fits in with the dubious and relentless activities carried out by the enemies of Syria in the country and abroad, those who deliberately mix the cards to obstruct a safe way out of the crisis."

Israel's left-of-centre, independent broadsheet Ha'aretz:

"Israel, whether intentionally or not, has made itself a perceived ally of the Syrian rebels, capable of replacing international shoulder-shrugging and military inaction with a policy of intervention. As such, it has won backing from the United States and Great Britain and, judging by the absence of condemnations, implicitly from the Arab states as well."

Israel's centrist, mass circulation Yediot Aharonot:

"The Syrians can now eat humble pie and do nothing, or decide that they have had enough and open an all-out confrontation with Israel. These two possibilities are less likely compared to the third: raise the bar in the secret war, which will manifest itself in terror operations, strikes against Israeli interests across the world and missiles fired from the Golan Heights or the Lebanese border. Now the ball is in their court..."

Editorial in English-language Jerusalem Post:

"Most important of all, however, is the message that is sent to both Syria and Iran… While statesmen of other countries seem to make declarations without having any intention of standing behind their words, Israel will not tolerate Syria's crossing its red lines. And that is an important message for the mullahs of the Islamic Republic, too."

Editorial in conservative Iranian newspaper Siyasat-e Ruz:

"The Zionist attack on an independent state is a violation of international law... Why has the UN kept silent on the Zionist attack on one of its official member countries? ... Once again, the Zionist crime has proved to the world that the main cause of the current crisis in the Middle East is the Zionist regime."

Conservative Iranian daily Hemayat:

"The Zionists' blatant attack on the Syrian territory and the killing of people in this country have taken place at a time when the trend of developments in Syria indicates the defeat of the anti-Syrian coalition. Therefore, it can be said that through this invasion the Zionists are seeking to create some breathing space for the terrorists operating in Syria."

Nationalist pan-Arab daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi:

"We are at the gates of a destructive regional war, and if it erupts, Israel and the countries supporting it, or Arab countries conspiring with it, will shoulder the full responsibility for this war because it is Israel who launched the attack and who is provoking Syrian and Iranian responses... We will not be surprised and we do not rule out that Syria will this time respond to the attack, and if it does not, then it will lose its dignity and its allies."

Editorial in Turkish centre-left newspaper Yurt:

"The missile attack committed by Israel against Syria yesterday morning signals a dangerous development which can open the doors of hell in the region... The way is being paved towards a bloody war and a sectarian conflict which will engulf the whole region."

Editorial in Jordan's private, pro-government newspaper Al-Dustur:

"The Zionist aggression against Syria requires both the regime and the opposition to negotiate in order to reach a political solution to save the country."

Ramallah-based, Palestinian Authority-owned newspaper Al-Hayat al-Jadidah:

"There is nothing strange about the Israeli intervention in the Syrian war. It indicates that the regime is beginning to breathe its last breath, which makes it necessary to destroy its non-conventional weapons so that no-one else will inherit them."

Jerusalem-based, pro-Fatah Palestinian newspaper Al-Quds:

"The dangerous Israeli escalation of attacking multiple targets in Syria is a perilous development that should make the Syrian people, leadership and opposition as well as the Arabs... aware that the time has come to understand the simple truth that the current events and the destruction of Syria mean only the weakening of another Arab country. This simply serves Israel's interests."

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