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Ya’alon says Russian jet violated Israeli air space without incident
Israel’s Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon said yesterday that Russian jets operating in neighbouring Syria had violated Israeli air space during the past several weeks, but that good communication between the two militaries meant that the error was soon corrected without incident.
Talking to Israel Radio in light of last week’s shooting down by Turkey of a Russian plane which it claims entered Turkish air space, Ya’alon revealed that a Russian jet had entered about one mile into Israeli air space, but that it had been “immediately contacted” and had consequently “immediately returned to Syrian territory.” Contrasting it with the Turkish incident, Ya’alon commented, “Russian planes are not trying to attack us and therefore it is not necessary to automatically – even if there is a mistake – to shoot them down.”
He added that an incident had also been avoided because, “When we understood that the Russians were planning to act inside Syria, we immediately met … we created an open channel for coordination so as to prevent misunderstandings.” Indeed, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu travelled to Moscow and met Russia’s President Vladimir Putin alongside their military chiefs to agree protocols.
Ya’alon explained this meant that, “From the beginning… [the Russians] notify when they are nearing our territory… and we don’t hamper them from acting… they also don’t hamper us from flying and acting according to our interests.” Emphasising Israel’s determination to protect itself, Ya’alon noted that “about a year ago we shot down a Syrian Sukhoi-24 plane that penetrated into our territory.”
Although Israel has sat firmly on the side-lines of the Syrian conflict, Israeli leaders have consistently reiterated that action will be taken if attempts are made to transfer weapons to terror groups such as Hezbollah, amid the fog of war. Israel is thought to have conducted air strikes against weapons shipments on a number of occasions near the Syria-Lebanon border, with Arab media reporting one in the Qalamoun Mountains earlier this month.