Golan Deaths Stoke Tensions Between Israel, Syria

The Israeli government says border conflicts are meant to draw Syrians' attention away from their president's crackdown.

Syria and Israel are playing the blame game over the deaths of 23 pro-Palestinian protesters who tried to gain access to the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, a plateau along the Israeli-Syrian border claimed by both countries. About 350 protesters from Syria broke through barbed wire demarcating the Heights over the weekend, prompting retaliation from Israeli soldiers that reportedly left 23 dead. The Israeli government said the protesters were sent by President Bashar al-Assad to divert attention away from his ongoing crackdown on civilians that has killed some 1,200 people in two months. Meanwhile, Syria claims the protesters were trying to draw attention to land that they say is theirs.