SNHR calls on the International Community to Take Serious Steps to Stop Israeli Violations and Urges the Transitional Government to Initiate a Genuine National Dialogue
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The Hague – Syrian Network for Human Rights:
On Friday, May 2, 2025, Israeli occupation’s warplanes launched an air strike targeted a site near the presidential palace in Damascus City. The attack didn’t cause human losses or much material loss. After the attack a joint statement by the Prime Minister of the occupation forces Benjamin Netanyahu and the Minister of Defense Israel Katz describing the raid as a direct message to the Syrian Regime, asserting their absolute rejection to, what they claimed, “Threatening the Druze community or sending forces to the south”.
The targeting of the vicinity of the presidential palace bears clear aggressive dimensions and represents a qualitative shift in the pattern of Israeli attacks, given the symbolic significance of the targeted site regarding state sovereignty and the centrality of its institutions. This attack, the first of its kind in years, directly targeted a highly sensitive area in the heart of the Syrian capital, raising serious concerns about an Israeli trend toward escalating and intensifying illegal military operations deep inside Syria.
SNHR believes that Israel’s justification for the attack, related to “deterring any threat to the Druze community,” reflects a dangerous exploitation of sectarian rhetoric and raises concerns about potential Israeli attempts to inflame internal conflicts and impose divisive agendas on components of Syrian society. This constitutes blatant and direct interference in Syria’s internal affairs and represents a clear violation of the state’s sovereignty and the independence of its political decision-making.
This blatant attack is part of a series of repeated and widespread assaults since the fall of the Assad regime. The Israeli aggression was not limited to the raid that targeted Damascus on May 2, but was followed by a series of airstrikes between May 2 and 3, 2025, targeting several locations in the governorates of Damascus Suburbs, Suwayda, Daraa, Latakia, and Hama. These attacks resulted in the deaths of four civilians when a farm near the village of Kanaker in Suwayda Governorate was targeted, and two members of the Syrian Ministry of Defense were injured when a military checkpoint was targeted in Latakia. The attacks also caused varying degrees of material damage to the sites targeted, and sparked fear and panic among civilians, especially in areas close to the bombing sites, where the sound of explosions was clearly heard in many residential neighborhoods.
This escalation, which has spanned multiple locations, signals a radical shift in Israeli military policy toward Syria. It reveals a systematic and coordinated bombing campaign that demonstrates an Israeli intent to keep Syria weak and fragmented. This constitutes a systematic violation of Syrian sovereignty, poses a real threat to the country’s security, and undermines the stability of the entire region.
Despite widespread condemnations from numerous Arab and foreign countries, including Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, UAE, and Yemen, as well as the Arab League, the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Arab Parliament, and the United Nations, which unanimously considered the Israeli attack a flagrant violation of Syrian sovereignty and a serious breach of international law, Israel continues to violate international law without any political or legal considerations, and continues its policy of military escalation, ignoring regional and international warnings about the seriousness of these attacks on the security and stability of the region.
SNHR strongly condemns these attacks, considering them a dangerous escalation that clearly seeks to undermine and destabilize the Syrian state. This is part of an approach that relies on excessive force, impunity, and disregard for international law to impose a new reality that serves Israel’s aggressive, expansionist interests at the expense of the sovereignty and territory of a UN member state.
The Israeli air attack on an area near the presidential palace in Damascus constitutes a clear and flagrant violation of Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter, which prohibits states from using or threatening to use force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state. This attack also meets the definition of aggression contained in UN General Assembly Resolution 3314 of 1974.
Israel’s claims of “deterring potential threats” do not meet the conditions for exercising the right of legitimate self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter. The article clearly requires the existence of a direct and concrete threat, and that the response be necessary and proportionate to the threat. In the present case, there was no existing or imminent attack targeting Israel from Syrian territory that would justify such military action.
Although this attack did not result in any human casualties, the targeting of airstrikes near sensitive civilian sites such as the presidential palace indicates a clear disregard for international humanitarian law.
The repeated Israeli airstrikes inside Syrian territory without the consent of the targeted state or prior international authorization constitute a clear violation of the sovereignty of an independent state and pose a serious threat to international peace and security, especially in light of the complex and sensitive circumstances currently facing the region.
Israel’s justification for the attack by claiming to protect a specific religious group violates the fundamental principles upon which the United Nations is based and sets a dangerous precedent that could upset societal balance in conflict zones. It also encourages foreign intervention under the pretext of religious or ethnic protection.
