However, it seems that Syria decided to reveal the reasons for retaining the right to respond without responding, despite Israel's admission that it launched more than 200 raids between 2016 and 2018 only.
In turn, an episode of "Shabakat" program (1/2022) shed light on the statements of the Syrian Foreign Minister, Faisal Miqdad, in which he revealed the reasons why Damascus retained the right to respond to the repeated Israeli raids on his country.
The Syrian minister justified this by claiming that the Israeli air force bombed Syrian sites from above or below civilian planes in the air, which makes it difficult for Syria to respond, in order to avoid inflicting heavy casualties on civilians, stressing that Syria bears and will not react, according to him.
It is noteworthy that the Syrian statements about the right to respond have been going on since 1982, when the Syrian army installed “SAM” missiles, and Israel bombed its batteries in the Bekaa, and then Foreign Minister Abdel Halim Khaddam said, “We will respond in the right time and place.” Farouk al-Shara said that Syria reserves the right to respond after Israel bombed the Syrian radar site in Lebanon.
The late Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Walid Al-Moallem also affirmed Syria's inherent right to respond to the Israeli aggression in 2013, and in 2022 the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed that Damascus reserves the right to respond by appropriate means in the face of Israeli attacks.
It seems that Minister Miqdad’s recent statements, in which he justified the reasons for not responding, once again ignited the anger and criticism of Syrian activists. Anis al-Hussein called on the Syrian regime not to get emotional with the rebellious people, so he wrote, “I wish you had endured and not reacted and reserved the right to respond towards a Syrian child, young man or elderly person who expressed his opinion as You reserved the right to respond and did not react to the Israeli bombs and missiles."
While Raafat Abdel-Aal mocked the official Syrian response, he tweeted, "You have a right, if this is so throughout my life, I will be surprised that why do you reserve the right to respond? It came out for such a reason, that is, no, if such a hallway."
In turn, Abdullah Al-Hudhaifi commented, "The problem is that they are hitting from behind the civil aviation, that is, undercover, otherwise you will bomb them."
Hassan Kanjo stated that Walid al-Moallem died without Syria responding, so he wrote, "Walid al-Moallem died promising to respond and warning that Israel would not test Damascus' patience."
Zaid refuted the official Syrian narrative that there is no civil aviation in the country's airspace, saying, "On the basis of civil aviation, Sirri Marri is over Syria. Nor is Domary over Syria."
According to Israeli newspapers, Israel launched more than 200 raids on Syrian territory between 2016 and 2018. At the time, Walid al-Moallem commented when he was Minister of Foreign Affairs, "Whoever wants aggression against Syria must coordinate with us."