Tel Aviv---- June 28...... Syrian soldiers attacked Israel Defense Force troops yesterday. The IDF reported reported that automatic fire was opened on Israel soldiers who were performing engineering chores with Israel's security border fence.

The IDF did not return fire and the incident is now under investigation. Israel security sources stated that there were no casualties. The unprovoked attack from the Syrian side of the border occurred when the troops were working near the Kuneitra crossing point.

IDF sources said it appeared the fire was perpetrated by at least one Syrian soldier on the basis of the fact that there is a Syrian army position in the proximity of the origin of the shooting. The IDF would not go into further details. They noted that there was no apparent reason for the shooting by light weapons fire at the time of the incident because the IDF soldiers had been involved in routine work.

According to the military sources, Israel considered this to be an extremely serious incident that was a serious breach of the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement and that a complaint would be submitted to United Nations. The UN has a force on the Golan to observe the agreement.

In April, a Syrian terrorist infiltrated the border from Syria and entered a nearby Israel Defense Forces post in the central sector of the Golan Heights before being apprehended by an unarmed IDF officer, in what was believed to be the first incident of its kind in some 30 years. The terrorist later told interrogators that his intention had been to kidnap a soldier to avenge family members killed by the IDF in Lebanon. There were no casualties among troops manning the position. The terrorist, 21, was reported to be a Syrian citizen of Palestinian origin and a resident of a refugee camp in Syria. He reportedly told interrogators that he was a Fatah activist and that he had intended to avenge family members who were killed in the IDF shelling of a UN base near Kafr Kana at the end of Operation Grapes of Wrath in 1996.

Israel Defense Forces artillery accidentally shelled the base in which civilians had taken cover during the operation against the Hizbullah terrorist organization and more than 100 people were killed. The IDF blamed Syria for Friday's infiltration, which the army said had to ensure that there would be no future occurrences.

The Israel Defense Forces spokesperson's office said there had been a number of border infiltrations by Syria civilians, some of them seeking asylum and others seeking employment, but not by an armed individual. The sources said that as far as they knew it was the first incident of its kind since the implementation of the Disengagement Agreement between Syria and Israel in 1974 following the Yom Kippur War of 1973.

Syria has continued to adopt a strategy of "defiance"which positions it on "the axis of evil". Syria employs terrorism as an integral component of its strategy. Syria perceives the "Hizbullah" as a strategic partner and operational arm, and grants shelter to the command posts and operational activities of the Palestinian terrorist organizations situated within its territory B. Syria develops weapons of mass destruction as a strategic force, in cooperation with North Korea and Iran, both of which are members of the "axis of evil". Syria extends the occupation of Lebanon and Lebanese dependence upon it, and subdues its opponents. In addition, it prevents the deployment of the Lebanese Army along the border with Israel - as is required by Security Council Resolution 425 - and thereby facilitates the continued operations of the "Hizbullah" in the area. The Syrian government has continued to interfere with Israel's water sources through its puppet government in Lebanon. Syria continues to generate intense anti-Semitism towards the Jews and avenomous enmity and hatred towards Israel as Israel makes every effort for peace and to stablize the region.

ISRAEL NEWS AGENCY