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EU concerned by recent attack on Israeli forces at Golan Heights

The European Union calls on all regional actors to show restraint and avoid any escalation

BRUSSELS, May 10. /TASS/. The European Union is seriously concerned by the recent attack on Israeli army posts on the Golan Heights, which Israel blames on Iran, the European Union’s External Action service said on Thursday.

"Reports about last night's Iranian attacks against Israeli army posts from inside Syria to which Israel responded by striking against Iranian targets in Syria are extremely worrying," an EU spokesperson said in a statement.

The document stresses that "Israel has the right to defend itself."

"At the same time, we call on all regional actors to show restraint and avoid any escalation, which could further undermine regional stability," the statement reads.

On Thursday morning, Israel attacked dozens of Iranian military installations in Syria in response to the shelling of its own positions on the Golan Heights.

Earlier on the same day, the pro-Iranian Al-Quds forces deployed in Syria launched no less than 20 missiles and other projectiles at the advanced positions of Israeli Army units on the Golan Heights. Israel intercepted some of the Iranian missiles with the aid of the Iron Dome air defense systems while others fell short of striking the targets.

SANA news agency said later Syria’s air defense forces had downed dozens Israeli missiles fired from the territory of the occupied Golan Heights.

Israel took control over the Golan Heights that had belonged by Syria from 1944 after the Six-Day War in 1967. In 1981, Israel’s Knesset (parliament) passed a law on the Golan Heights unilaterally proclaiming Israel’s sovereignty over this territory. United Nations Security Council Resolution 497 of December 17, 1981 ruled that the annexation was null and void, having no international legal effect.