Syria Intercepts Israeli Missile Barrage Targeting Damascus

Syrian air defenses intercepted an Israeli missile barrage targeting the vicinity of Damascus. (AFP file photo)
Syrian air defenses intercepted an Israeli missile barrage targeting the vicinity of Damascus. (AFP file photo)
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Syria Intercepts Israeli Missile Barrage Targeting Damascus

Syrian air defenses intercepted an Israeli missile barrage targeting the vicinity of Damascus. (AFP file photo)
Syrian air defenses intercepted an Israeli missile barrage targeting the vicinity of Damascus. (AFP file photo)

Syrian air defenses confronted Israeli missiles targeting an area near the capital, Damascus, downing some of them, Syria's state news agency reported Monday.

SANA cited a military source as saying the missiles came from the skies over eastern Lebanon, and targeted outposts in the vicinity of Damascus, resulting in material losses.

No other details were immediately available, and there was no comment from Israel on the attack which occurred shortly after 3 a.m. in Damascus. Israel carries out raids on Syria mostly overnight.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strikes targeted a Hezbollah weapons cache in al-Qutayfah city, northeast of Damascus.

Israel has staged hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of Syria over the past decade of the war in the Arab country, but rarely acknowledges or discusses such operations.

Israel has acknowledged, however, that it is targeting bases of Iran-allied militias, such as Lebanon's Hezbollah. It says it is going after positions and arms shipments believed to be bound for the groups. Hezbollah is fighting on the side of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces in the country's war.

Israel says Iranian presence on its northern frontier is a red line, justifying its strikes on facilities and weapons inside Syria.



Constitutional Path for Aoun’s Presidential Election in Lebanon

Lebanese Army Commander Gen. Joseph Aoun (Reuters)
Lebanese Army Commander Gen. Joseph Aoun (Reuters)
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Constitutional Path for Aoun’s Presidential Election in Lebanon

Lebanese Army Commander Gen. Joseph Aoun (Reuters)
Lebanese Army Commander Gen. Joseph Aoun (Reuters)

Gen. Joseph Aoun currently leads the race for Lebanon's presidency, but some warn his election could be unconstitutional because he holds a “Class A” position, requiring his resignation two years before running.
However, his supporters point to the 2008 election of Gen. Michel Suleiman, who was also army commander at the time, as a precedent. They argue the reasons given for Suleiman’s election should apply to Aoun as well.
At the time, Speaker Nabih Berri argued that the support of over 86 lawmakers for Suleiman made his election constitutional, as any constitutional amendment requires 86 votes.
MP Gebran Bassil, leader of the Free Patriotic Movement, continues to argue that Aoun’s election is unconstitutional under the current process.
He recently stated that constitutional amendments require a president, a functioning parliament, and a fully empowered government. The process also needs two steps: a two-thirds majority in the first vote and a three-quarters majority in the second.
Bassil’s argument is based on Articles 76 and 77 of the constitution, which say amendments can only be proposed by the president or parliament, but only during a regular session — which ended in December.
Dr. Paul Morcos, head of the “JUSTICIA” legal foundation in Beirut, told Asharq Al-Awsat that in 2008, parliament used Article 74 of the constitution to bypass the amendment to Article 49.
He explained that Gen. Suleiman’s election was considered an exception to the rule requiring military officials to resign six months before running for president, due to the presidential vacancy after President Emile Lahoud’s term ended in 2007.
Morcos added that the same reasoning could apply to Gen. Aoun’s potential election as president.