TENSIONS escalated in the Middle East today after Syria threatened to bomb Tel Aviv airport in retaliation for the latest Israeli missile strikes targeting Damascus International Airport.

The Syrian government warned that it would exercise its legitimate right to self-defence following Tel Aviv’s latest attack, arguing that Israel has been acting with impunity in Syrian airspace for years.

Damascus said the Israeli aerial bombardments were in breach of international law and demanded an end to the “almost daily aggression” against Syrian territory.

Syria’s permanent representative to the UN, Dr Bashar al-Jaafari demanded a condemnation of “the crimes of the Israeli occupation and its daily oppressive practices against the people of the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.”

He told those gathered in New York that air strikes against alleged Iranian targets close to Syria’s busiest domestic airport were a regular occurrence with Lieutenant General Gadi Eisenkot, the Israeli army’s outgoing chief of staff, admitting last week that thousands of missile attacks had been carried out in recent years.

In one of the most serious incidents, 15 Russian air force personnel were killed last September after Israeli jets used their aircraft as a cover, moving it into the path of a Syrian air defence missile.

Mr Jaafari warned that the constant Israeli attacks “would not have been possible without the failure of the security council to implement its decisions for decades and without the unlimited support provided by the permanent members of the council of this rogue entity.”

Israel has long been accused by Damascus of supporting terrorist organisations in Syria. Mr Jaafari said Tel Aviv’s sponsors, including Britain, the US and France who launched missile attacks last year following allegations of a chemical attack launched by President Bashar al-Assad on the people of Douma, have failed to act on its lawless behaviour.

He accused the policies and actions of the three imperialist countries of being “in total contradiction of their responsibility to maintain international peace and security in accordance with international law.

“Isn’t time now for the UN security council to stop the Israeli repeated aggressions on the Syrian Arab Republic territories?

“Or is it required to draw the attention of the war-makers in this council by exercising our legitimate right to defend ourself and respond to the Israeli aggression on Damascus International Civil Airport in the same way on Tel Aviv Airport?” Mr Jaafari asked.