Syria wanted Israeli help in securing border, report claims

Damascus reportedly sought Israel’s cooperation in securing Syria’s borders at the start of the bloody uprising that has rocked the country for the last year and a half, purported secret papers show.

The report by Saudi news outlet Al Arabiya was based on what it said are secret Syrian documents obtained from the Syrian opposition.

According to the papers, Syrian Air Force Intelligence chief Sakr Mennoun asked an officer to secure Syria’s border with the Golan Heights “in cooperation with the state of Israel.”

If true, the report would prove a sea change in Syria’s relationship with Israel, which it considers an enemy. However, there was no independent confirmation of the report, and other claims made by the Saudi outlet on the basis of the purported documents have been rejected.

Israel and Syria share a ceasefire line on the Golan Heights, much of which is buffered by a demilitarized zone. The two countries have no official diplomatic ties, though Damascus official have said they would consider peace with Israel in exchange for the return of the Golan Heights, which Israel captured in 1967 and later de facto annexed.

Damascus has been fighting rebel forces since March 2011, with the conflict creeping near, and sometimes over the border. Hundreds of thousand of Syrians have fled into Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq, though no refugees have been let into Israel.

Al Arabiya has published several reports based on papers it says it obtained from the Syrian opposition. A previous report, on Russia’s involvement in the downing of a Turkish jet by Syria, was denied by Turkey, which said the documents quoted were fakes.

The Al Arabiya report also claimed an Iranian official had contacted Syrian President Bashar Assad to say that chemical warheads were ready to be moved.

There was no independent confirmation of any of the reports.