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by Jennifer Hanin

Yesterday, Syrians attempted to breach Israel’s border causing a flood of attention away from Syrian President Bashar Assad’s ongoing bloodbath and casting a floodlight of attention on Israel. Was there anything unusual about it? Lots. The Syrian Reform Party confirms that those border-jumpers were indeed paid $1000 dollars a pop.

And what if one gets shot in the process? The government has that covered too. The border-jumper’s family gets a huge payday: $10,000 for succumbing to Israeli fire. This kind of terrorism for jackpots has been used in Gaza to recruit youths to either launch missiles at Israel or worse, to pay suicide bombers’ family large sums while honoring them for making their sons’ or daughters’ martyrs. It’s also been used by the Ba’ath Party in Iraq, under Saddam Hussein, to pay Intifada-driven Palestinians $25,000 to their next-of-kin should they die throwing stones. These atrocities must stop.

It’s extremely concerning as the average salary in Syria is around $200 a month. No one can forget the massive stain on Syria right now as the government continues a brutal campaign massacring its own people. Here is an excerpt of a press release the Reform Party of Syria (RPS) released yesterday:

It is obvious, with this action, Assad wants to divert the attention of the world away from his own massacres and brutality that resulted in some 70 deaths yesterday and about 30 today in Jisr al-Shoghour. RPS expects, on the basis of today’s success, for these operations of incursions to multiply in scope in the near future for two reasons: 1) Divert the attention away from Assad’s barbarism and savageries, and 2) Stand tall again in the eyes of the regime’s supporters whose morale has taken quite a beating the last 3 months because of the violence perpetrated by Assad against unarmed civilians.

Israel acted in accordance with international law. Yet, there were some people on Twitter yesterday asking why Israel didn’t warn Syrians or set off tear gas before firing. Obviously, they did repeatedly. The image here shows the tear gas the IDF released after those rushing the border ignored verbal attempts to retreat. Syrian officials did NOTHING to stop their citizens from rushing the border fence, which again suggests they had a hand in it. Act For Israel spent most of yesterday getting the truth out.

While Act For Israel and RPS differ on the ownership of the Golan Heights (it’s a strategic militarily for Israel’s security), it’s clear the world needs to continue looking at motives of why Syrians would risk their lives to rush any country’s border. This wasn’t a peaceful “Naksa” demonstration (though that’s oxymoron in itself), this was a attempted security breach of another country’s sovereignty. We cannot support terror regimes that use their own people as political pawns to conceal human rights atrocities.  Act For Israel urges world leaders to put pressure on the Syrian government as Syrians deserve a better life under reformed government, not one that pays them to be commit crimes, get injured or worse.

Jennifer Hanin is an Act For Israel founder, blogger and author of Becoming Jewish.

Photo credit: Oded Balilty/Associated Press