Israel forgives Daesh for attack following ‘apology’

By Kaamil Ahmed

JERUSALEM

Israel has decided to "absorb" an unintended attack by Daesh after the terrorist group “apologized” for it, former Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon told reporters on Wednesday.

Expanding on comments made last week on the effectiveness of Israel's "red lines" policy (by which Israel responds even to unintentional fire), Yaalon asserted that the policy had effectively deterred Daesh’s alleged affiliates in both war-torn Syria and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.

"Generally speaking, both ISIS [Daesh] in Syria and ISIS in Sinai have been deterred [this way] by the Israeli Defense Forces,” Yaalon said when asked whether Israel had responded to the reported Daesh attack.

“They appreciate our military superiority,” he added.

"So we absorbed one, a single attack executed by ISIS elements on the Syrian border, [it was] isolated,” Yaalon said. “As we understand, it was done by mistake and it was only one.”

Israeli officials have refrained from providing any information about the unintentional attack other than to say it occurred on the border with Syria.

Yaalon, for his part, declined to elaborate on the nature of the terrorist group’s “apology”, including the means by which it was delivered to Israel.

Israel has a policy of responding to any fire directed towards it or which strikes its territory, whether by armed groups in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip or by the various elements now fighting in neighboring Syria.