Israeli soldiers on the Golan Heights came under fire from Syria on Monday but no one was hurt and the troops did not shoot back in a bid to avoid escalation, the Israeli army said. "There was shooting from Syria towards an Israeli force south of (the Syrian city of) Quneitra," an army spokeswoman said about the incident on the occupied Golan Heights. "The Israel Defence Forces did not respond in order to maintain restraint. A protest was lodged with the United Nations (peacekeeping) force," she said. Israeli media reports said the soldiers were repairing a border fence when they came under fire from a Syrian army position. "No, no. Certainly not."
Syria denied Monday the opening of fire at the Israeli occupied Syrian Golan Heights. In a statement carried by the Syrian News Agency (SANA), the source underlined that youngsters were "throwing firecrackers" on the occasion marking the 31st anniversary of the liberation of Qunaitera city. Earlier leadership of Al-Baath Arab Socialist Party's Qunaitera Branch organized a mass rally marking the 31st anniversary of the liberation of the city. In a speech delivered on the occasion, Qunaitera Governor Nawaf al-Fares pointed out the importance of the occasion because it represents an Arab and national event in which the city of Quneitra has been liberated and returned to the motherland of Syria.