Israel strikes Syria after suicide bomber kills 19

ISRAEL launched its deepest air raid into Syria in 30 years yesterday, attacking what it said was a training camp for Palestinian militants after a suicide bomber killed 19 people in an Israeli restaurant.

Hours after the raid, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, facing an Israeli threat to “remove” him after further Palestinian suicide bombings, declared a state of emergency in Palestinian areas.

Palestinian Prime Minister-nominee Ahmed Qurie also announced an eight-member emergency cabinet meeting.

The UN Security Council last night held an emergency session after Syria complained to Secretary-General Kofi Annan over the Israeli air raid.

The US, which said Israel only told it of the raid several hours after it took place, urged both Israel and Syria to do nothing that would heighten tensions or lead to hostilities in the Middle East.

Israel said its warplanes hit a training base used by “terror groups” including Islamic Jihad, which claimed responsibility for Saturday’s suicide attack on the eve of the Jewish Yom Kippur holiday.

Israel said it wanted the air strike to serve as a warning to stop Palestinian militant groups operating on Syrian territory, an accusation consistently denied by the Damascus government.

Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shara wrote to the United Nations saying Israel had struck a civilian site. But Damascus, still technically at war with Israel, would exercise restraint.

“(The attack) threatens security and peace in the region and internationally and could (bring)...dire consequences that would be hard to control,” Mr al-Shara said.

Syria’s UN ambassador, Fayssal Mekdad, said he was asking the Security Council to insist Israel stopped such attacks, which he said violated “the norms of international law”.

It was the first time Israel had struck so far inside Syrian territory since the 1973 Middle East war, military commentators said.

Palestinian sources reported casualties, but there was no official confirmation.

The surprise Israeli move came amid speculation that Israel would target Mr Arafat - whom it has threatened to exile - after Saturday’s suicide bombing. Arafat denies Israeli accusations that he is fomenting violence.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said Mr Arafat’s expulsion would not serve the cause of peace. He accused Israel of trying to goad Palestinians into acts of violence.

Mr Arafat denounced the raid.