Israel: Not intervening in Syrian-U.N. incident

Israel won't intervene in the Syrian-U.N. hostage crisis, an Israeli official said on Thursday.

About 30 rebels detained 21 U.N. peacekeepers who entered a Syrian village near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Wednesday and refused to let them go. The rebels say they suspect the peacekeepers were trying to aid their enemy, which is defending the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. The United Nations has urged their release.

"It's happening in Syria. We are following it very closely," the official said." We can't and won't interfere in the events on the other side of the border. We have offered UNDOF (the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force) any kind of assistance they might require and we hope this ends quickly with no harm to anyone."