EDITORIAL: In a blatant act of aggression on Monday Israel hit the Damascus International Airport, killing four people, including two soldiers. This was the second time in less than seven months that the rogue state in the Middle East launched an unprovoked attack on the airport of a sovereign country.

As a matter of fact, during the recent years Israel has carried out hundreds of sorties inside Syria targeting airports, seaports and other places.

Its defenders in the Western countries, such as the UK-based self-styled Syrian Observatory for Human Rights tried to justify the latest strike saying the missiles hit “positions for Hezbollah and pro-Iranian groups inside the airport and its surroundings, including a weapons warehouse.” Assuming that is true, it is not a valid enough reason for offensive action on at least three grounds.

It is no secret that Syria along with Hezbollah, Hamas, and Iran are part of what is known as the ‘Resistance Axis’, an alliance that stands against Israeli aggression and expansionism. A fair argument in its favour can be that if the Western countries have joined forces in a military alliance, NATO, there should be nothing objectionable about the Resistance Axis constituents defending their interests in their own region.

Israel continues to act with impunity because of the unqualified support of its powerful Western friends. Unfortunately, Western countries make selective use of international law, invoking it when it suits their purposes and ignoring constraints in all other cases. It is imperative that all those who want respect for the universally agreed laws and norms of behaviour raise their voices against Israel’s wanton use of force.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023