Syrian Parliament Member, Terrorist Who Was Previously Jailed In Israel Assassinated Near Israeli Border

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — A Syrian terrorist who spent time in Israeli jail for his activities was killed near the Israeli-Syrian border at the end of last week, apparently by Israeli snipers. The terrorist, identified as Madhat al-Salah, was killed north of Quneitra near the village of Hader which is located just a few hundred meters from the border.

The official Syrian news agency reported that he was shot while returning to his home at the Ein a-Tina outpost on the Syrian side of the Golan. The Arab media reported that in the past there was a target for an assassination attempt on Israel in 2011 in the Majdal Shams area.

Al-Saleh was responsible for the Golan Heights issue in the Syrian government, and has previously been arrested in Israel for joining the Golan Resistance Movement, disrupting security forces and the IDF and planting mines on military roads. He was also arrested following a 1985 attempt to abduct an Israeli soldier. He spent 12 years in jail and after his release in 1998 crossed the border to Syria and became a member of the Parliament as well as taking responsibility for Syrians living in the Golan Heights. Salah was apparently also involved in intelligence activities and recruiting sources in Israel for terror activities.

According to Maj. (res.) Tal Beeri, head of the research department at the Alma Center, Salah, who lived in Jaramana near the capital of Damascus, might have been working for Hezbollah and was in the area in order to carry out an order.

“If it’s not an internal event, and he was indeed killed by Israel, then it’s likely that he was involved in an attack against Israel that was at an advanced stage,” Beeri told The Jerusalem Post.

Last week Israel was accused of carrying out airstrikes in Syria against Iranian and Hezbollah targets in an attempt to prevent them from using advanced bases in Syria to attack Israel. In the attacks on the T-4 airbase at Tadmor, Syria, a number of pro-Iran terrorists were killed and wounded.

The IDF did not confirm the reported attacks but did accuse the Syrian army of cooperating with Hezbollah and warned elements in southern Syria that if they continued such cooperation “they would have no peace of mind.”