Customary means

It is surely a grim sign of the times when one is more likely to believe the Syrians than the Israelis, not that I ever believe much of what the Israelis ever say. Nonetheless, Syria is claiming that Israeli aircraft violated Syrian airspace and dropped bombs on Syrian territory.

Syria accused Israel of bombing its territory on Thursday and said it could respond to the Jewish state's "aggression and treachery."

Israel declined to comment on the charge by Syria, which said no casualties or damage were caused. The Syrian accusation was partly responsible for triggering a rise in world oil prices of more than $1.40 a barrel.

"It appears that the Israeli planes were on a reconnaissance mission when they got caught by Syrian defenses and were forced to drop their bombs and extra fuel tanks," said a Western diplomat in Syria's capital Damascus.

"This shows that Israel cannot give up aggression and treachery," Syrian Information Minister Mohsen Bilal told Al Jazeera television.

Another Syrian official said: "They dropped bombs on an empty area while our air defenses were firing heavily at them."

What is interesting here is Israel's official response to the charges.

The Israeli military spokesman's office said in a statement: "It is not our custom to respond to these kinds of reports."

Which probably means they are either true or close to being so. After all, it's not like the Israelis haven't done this before.

Ahh, the nation of peace.