Photos: Tension builds on Israel-Syria border
May 7, 2013
Smoke rises after shells exploded in the Syrian village of Al Rafeed, close to the ceasefire line between Israel and Syria, as seen from the Israeli occupied Golan Heights May 7, 2013. Israel played down weekend air strikes close to Damascus reported to have killed dozens of Syrian soldiers, saying they were not aimed at influencing its neighbour's civil war but only at stopping Iranian missiles reaching Lebanese Hezbollah militants. REUTERS/Baz Ratner ( SYRIA-CRISIS/ )
Israeli soldiers from the Golani Brigade pray close to the ceasefire line between Israel and Syria on the Israeli occupied Golan Heights May 7, 2013. Israel played down weekend air strikes close to Damascus reported to have killed dozens of Syrian soldiers, saying they were not aimed at influencing its neighbour's civil war but only at stopping Iranian missiles reaching Lebanese Hezbollah militants. REUTERS/Baz Ratner ( SYRIA-CRISIS/ )
GOLAN HEIGHTS - MAY 07: An unmanned UN watchtower stands May 7, 2013 on the Israei side of the border between the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights and Syria. Four UN peacekeepers wer reportedly seized in demilitarised area between the Golan/Syria border (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images) ( 168236409 )
GOLAN HEIGHTS - MAY 07: People approach the border fence with Israel near the Syrian village of Al' Rafide May 7, 2013 in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights. Syria has accused Israel of launching a series of airstrikes on targets near the Lebanon/Syria border, including an arms shipment and the Jamraya research centre, that was thought to produce chemical weapons. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images) ( 168231595 )
GOLAN HEIGHTS - MAY 07: Israeli soldiers of the Golani brigade pray while taking part in a military exercise May 7, 2013 near the border with Syria, in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights. Syria has accused Israel of launching a series of airstrikes on targets near the Lebanon/Syria border, including an arms shipment and the Jamraya research centre, that was thought to produce chemical weapons. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images) ( 168239329 )
GOLAN HEIGHTS - MAY 07: An Israeli soldier of the Golani brigade prays while his unit takes part in a military exercise May 7, 2013 near the border with Syria, in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights. Syria has accused Israel of launching a series of airstrikes on targets near the Lebanon/Syria border, including an arms shipment and the Jamraya research centre, that was thought to produce chemical weapons. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images) ( 168239325 )
GOLAN HEIGHTS - MAY 07: Israeli soldiers of the Golani brigade pray while taking part in a military exercise May 7, 2013 near the border with Syria, in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights. Syria has accused Israel of launching a series of airstrikes on targets near the Lebanon/Syria border, including an arms shipment and the Jamraya research centre, that was thought to produce chemical weapons. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images) ( 168239316 )
Israeli soldiers march during a military exercise in the Israeli controlled Golan Heights, near the border with Syria, Tuesday, May 7, 2013. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit) ( Mideast Israel Syria )
Pro-Syrian regime activists, one holding up a poster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, shout slogans during a march against the Israeli attacks on Syria as they rally outside the United Nations offices in the capital Sanaa, on May 7, 2013. Israeli air raids on Syria at the weekend killed at least 42 soldiers, a watchdog said, fuelling international concern over a spillover of the conflict, as Damascus warned it would strike back. MOHAMMED HUWAIS/AFP/Getty Images ( 519531516 )
Spanish U.N peacekeepers, pass a poster of Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, as they patrol the Lebanese side of the Lebanese-Israeli border in the southern village of Kfar Kila, Lebanon, Tuesday May 7, 2013. President Bashar Assad's regime has given a Palestinian militant group the go-ahead to set up missiles to attack Israel in the wake of recent Israeli airstrikes on the Syrian capital, a spokesman for the group said Tuesday. Israel's government has not formally confirmed involvement in the strikes on Syria. However, Israeli officials have said the attacks were meant to prevent advanced Iranian weapons from reaching Lebanon's Hezbollah militia, an ally of Syria and foe of Israel. The Israeli settlement of Metulla, is seen at background. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) ( Mideast Lebanon Syria Israel )
GOLAN HEIGHTS - MAY 07: (ISRAEL OUT) A United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) guard stands outside the UNDOF camp May 7, 2013 on the Israeli side of the border between the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights and Syria. Four UN peacekeepers wer reportedly seized in demilitarised area between the Golan/Syria border (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images) ( 168236406 )
GOLAN HEIGHTS - MAY 07: A cloud from an explosion rises near the Syrian village of Al' Rafide at the border with Israel May 7, 2013 in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights. Syria has accused Israel of launching a series of airstrikes on targets near the Lebanon/Syria border, including an arms shipment and the Jamraya research centre, that was thought to produce chemical weapons. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images) ( 168231600 )
An Indonesian U.N peacekeeper patrols the Lebanese side of the Lebanese-Israeli border in the southern village of Kfar Kila, Lebanon, Tuesday May 7, 2013. President Bashar Assad's regime has given a Palestinian militant group the go-ahead to set up missiles to attack Israel in the wake of recent Israeli airstrikes on the Syrian capital, a spokesman for the group said Tuesday. Israel's government has not formally confirmed involvement in the strikes on Syria. However, Israeli officials have said the attacks were meant to prevent advanced Iranian weapons from reaching Lebanon's Hezbollah militia, an ally of Syria and foe of Israel. The Israeli settlement of Metulla, is seen at background. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) ( Mideast Lebanon Syria Israel )
Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon (C) stands in front of an armoured personnel carrier (APC) during a visit to a military base near Kibbutz Kissufim outside the central Gaza Strip May 7, 2013. Israel played down weekend air strikes close to Damascus reported to have killed dozens of Syrian soldiers, saying they were not aimed at influencing its neighbour's civil war but only at stopping Iranian missiles reaching Lebanese Hezbollah militants. REUTERS/Amir Cohen ( SYRIA-CRISIS/ )
Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses party members in Parliament in Ankara, Turkey, Tuesday, May 7, 2013. Edogan has denounced Israeli airstrikes on Syria, saying the attacks help strengthen Syrian President Bashar Assad's hand. Erdogan also criticized Iran for "turning a blind eye" to massacres in Syria and accused the international community of ignoring the bloodshed. (AP Photo) ( Turkey Syria Israel )
Palestinian supporters of leftist parties take part in a protest against Israeli air strikes close to Damascus, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip May 7, 2013. Israel played down weekend air strikes close to Damascus reported to have killed dozens of Syrian soldiers, saying they were not aimed at influencing its neighbour's civil war but only at stopping Iranian missiles reaching Lebanese Hezbollah militants. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa ( PALESTINIANS-SYRIA/ )
Israeli soldiers stand atop of a tank during a military exercise in the Israeli controlled Golan Heights, near the border with Syria, Tuesday, May 7, 2013. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit) ( Mideast Israel Syria )
GOLAN HEIGHTS - MAY 07: Israeli soldiers patrol next to the border fence May 7, 2013 on border with Syria, in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights. Syria has accused Israel of launching a series of airstrikes on targets near the Lebanon/Syria border, including an arms shipment and the Jamraya research centre, that was thought to produce chemical weapons. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images) ( 168239345 )
Israeli soldiers patrol near the Israeli settlement of Metulla, background, at the Lebanese-Israeli border, near the village of Kfar Kila, Lebanon, Tuesday May 7, 2013. Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime has given a Palestinian militant group the go-ahead to set up missiles to attack Israel in the wake of recent Israeli airstrikes on the Syrian capital, a spokesman for the group said Tuesday. Israel's government has not formally confirmed involvement in the strikes on Syria. However, Israeli officials have said the attacks were meant to prevent advanced Iranian weapons from reaching Lebanon's Hezbollah militia, an ally of Syria and foe of Israel. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) ( Mideast Lebanon Syria Israel )
GOLAN HEIGHTS - MAY 07: People approach the border fence with Israel near the Syrian village of Al' Rafide May 7, 2013 in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights. Syria has accused Israel of launching a series of airstrikes on targets near the Lebanon/Syria border, including an arms shipment and the Jamraya research centre, that was thought to produce chemical weapons. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images) ( 168231598 )
A picture taken from the Israeli annexed Golan Heights shows smoke rising following an explosion in a Syrian village near the Israeli border on May 7, 2013. The conflict between President Bashar al-Assad's government and rebel forces has divided the Middle East, with his allies -- Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah -- lined up against Gulf states which back the uprising. MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty Images ( 519531530 )
An Israeli soldier drives an armored personal carrier during a military exercise in the Israeli controlled Golan Heights, near the border with Syria, Tuesday, May 7, 2013. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit) ( Mideast Israel Syria )
Israeli soldiers of the Golani brigade gather in a tent, as the sun rises, before a military exercise in the Israeli controlled Golan Heights, near the border with Syria, Tuesday, May 7, 2013. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit) ( APTOPIX Mideast Israel Syria )
A picture taken from the Israeli side of the border shows a Syrian woman waking near the Syria-Israel boundary fence in the Israeli annexed Golan Heights near the southern Syrian village of Ar Rafide on May 7, 2013 as fighting continues to ravage Syria. The number of Syrians displaced within their homeland by the vicious civil war has reached 4.25 million, the UN humanitarian office. MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty Images ( 519531526 )