Alert declared in Israeli Air and Air Defense Forces after Syria claimed Israeli jets penetrated its air space September 6, 2007, 8:03 PM (GMT+02:00) Leaves have also been canceled at IDF bases as Israel braces for a possible Syrian reaction to the incident in the coming hours. Israeli official spokesmen declined to comment on the Syrian News Agency claim that Israeli warplanes entered its air space from the Mediterranean Sea Wednesday night and flew opposite Al Raqqah in northeastern Syria, breaking the sound barrier. Syria fire forced them to leave without causing casualties, says the report. Arab and European stations quote Syrian sources as accusing the Israeli air force of dropping bombs on empty areas. A Syrian spokesman warned “the Israeli enemy against repeating its aggressive action” and said his government reserved the right to respond. DEBKAfile military sources speculate the Syrians may have referred to a possible Israeli surveillance flight which finding itself under fire may have dumped a fuel tank to gain speed; Damascus may be seeking to raise military temperatures already high between the two countries for its own purposes, or fabricating a pretext to go on the offensive against Israeli targets on the Golan.