11 feb 2018
Washington has declared its full support for any Israeli military escalation against Syria, describing Israel (an occupying power) as a country that has the right to defend itself.
A statement from the White House press secretary on Sunday said that “Israel is a staunch ally of the United States, and we support its right to defend itself from the Iranian-backed Syrian and militia forces in southern Syria.”
A similar position was also voiced on Saturday by state department spokeswoman Heather Nauert, who also said that “Iran’s calculated escalation of threat and its ambition to project its power and dominance place all the people of the region, from Yemen to Lebanon, at risk.”
“The US continues to push back on the totality of Iran’s malign activities in the region and calls for an end to Iranian behavior that threatens peace and stability,” she added.
The US department of defense (the Pentagon) also claimed yesterday that Israel was entitled to protect itself against acts of aggression.
“Israel is our closest security partner in the region and we fully support Israel’s inherent right to defend itself against threats to its territory and its people,” Pentagon spokesman Adrian Rankine said.
Such remarks follow Israel’s aerial bombing of several targets in Syria on Saturday, which was claimed to be in response to anti-aircraft fire that downed one of its warplanes as it was returning from an attack on alleged Iranian-backed positions in Syria.
Earlier, Israel justified its raids on those positions in Syria by saying they were carried out after an Iranian drone had entered its (occupied) territory late Friday and later was shot down by its air forces.
A statement from the White House press secretary on Sunday said that “Israel is a staunch ally of the United States, and we support its right to defend itself from the Iranian-backed Syrian and militia forces in southern Syria.”
A similar position was also voiced on Saturday by state department spokeswoman Heather Nauert, who also said that “Iran’s calculated escalation of threat and its ambition to project its power and dominance place all the people of the region, from Yemen to Lebanon, at risk.”
“The US continues to push back on the totality of Iran’s malign activities in the region and calls for an end to Iranian behavior that threatens peace and stability,” she added.
The US department of defense (the Pentagon) also claimed yesterday that Israel was entitled to protect itself against acts of aggression.
“Israel is our closest security partner in the region and we fully support Israel’s inherent right to defend itself against threats to its territory and its people,” Pentagon spokesman Adrian Rankine said.
Such remarks follow Israel’s aerial bombing of several targets in Syria on Saturday, which was claimed to be in response to anti-aircraft fire that downed one of its warplanes as it was returning from an attack on alleged Iranian-backed positions in Syria.
Earlier, Israel justified its raids on those positions in Syria by saying they were carried out after an Iranian drone had entered its (occupied) territory late Friday and later was shot down by its air forces.
10 feb 2018
By H. Javan
The sun had barely risen on Saturday, February 10, 2018 when Israel deployed warplanes — reportedly at least two F-16 fighter jets — to conduct an airstrike against a position inside Syria, much as it casually had in the past.
The sun was far from the middle of the sky when it turned out nothing had gone casually this time around.
At least one of the Israeli F-16s was shot with a missile, fired by the Syrian air defense, inside Syrian airspace. It never reported back to base. And shortly afterwards, the Israeli military was collecting its charred remains in northern Israel.
The Israeli regime has conducted military attacks in Syria in the past, most of them incognito, with Tel Aviv refusing to publicly claim responsibility while wishing to be attributed credibility. In retrospect, the Israeli military would have wished to keep the Saturday strike incognito, too. If, that is, that would have been possible.
Little was left of the warplane’s fuselage at its crash site on the ground, images of which appeared first on social media and only hours later on news agency feeds.
The two pilots of the jet parachuted out just in time for them not to die in roasting iron scrap but one of them was seriously injured anyway.
Rocket sirens were also sounded in northern Israel; bomb shelters were opened; and air traffic was halted at the Ben Gurion airport outside of Tel Aviv.
Then came reports of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, constantly holding security meetings with military and other staff, imaginably worried, and struggling to look composed in a political and military field of fight where, with Russian military presence, he has little room to wiggle.
Israeli officials attempted a lot of damage control, from claiming that the Israeli warplane had managed to leave Syrian airspace when it was shot, to saying that they were still investigating the cause of its crash some 24 hours after it was shot down.
Tel Aviv also claimed that the Israeli military had struck 12 more positions inside Syria in response to the downing of the plane.
Israeli officials also attempted to attribute some of the responsibility to Russian technology. The Israeli air force’s second-in-command, Tomer Bar, said “at least four different types of Russian-made air defense systems, specifically the SA-5, SA-17, SA-6 and SA-3” had been involved in the downing of the Israeli F-16.
But all of that did little to help avoid the inevitable shattering of the Israeli military image that had come with the downing of the jet. No Israeli warplane had been downed since the first Israeli war on Lebanon in 1982, and the Israeli military had attempted to capitalize on that fortuitous history to build an image of “invincibility” for its air force.
Which came to naught when the Syrian air defense comfortably acquired a radar lock on the Israeli F-16 (reportedly known in Israel as Sufa) and sent it down in flames and smoke.
Israeli media picked up that motif soon after the attack, with one Israeli columnist calling the downing of the jet “a blow to the national pride of a country that holds its air force as invincible.”
All attention was thus duly on Syria’s air defense performance.
But while the Syrian missile repository may be restocked, and its air defense technology upgraded, the most consequential development may be that Damascus now has adequate attention to spare to confront an aggressive Israel. And that has shaken Tel Aviv.
Syria war winding down means trouble for Israel
Syria first experienced Israeli aggression in 1967, when the Tel Aviv regime occupied parts of the Golan Heights. Then, in September 2007, the Israeli military attacked what it believed was a nuclear facility in Syria’s Dayr al-Zawr, in an operation Tel Aviv never claimed responsibility for.
Ever since, Israeli attacks have occurred every now and then, often targeting what the Tel Aviv regime says are convoys of weapons headed for the Lebanese resistance movement of Hezbollah. Especially since 2011, when Damascus has been busy fighting a foreign-sponsored militancy, the Syrian military has absorbed many of those Israeli attacks.
But the Syrian conflict, as it played out over the past seven years, may now be on the cusp of its final chapter, mainly thanks to efforts by Iran, Russia, and Turkey, which have together steered a peace process for Syria known as the Astana process. Four de-escalation zones have been set up, covering much of Syria, and are being monitored under an arrangement designed by the three guarantor states.
The Syrian Arab Army has also retaken much of the territory that had been overrun by militants. The only parts still to be retaken are Idlib Province, in the northwest, and Ghouta, a suburb of the capital, Damascus.
As the Syrian military finds itself fighting less within Syrian borders, it may be ready to stop the occasional Israeli hit-and-runs.
Sovereign skies
In a statement shortly after the Saturday dawn attack by the Israeli jets on a base in central Syria, a group of forces allied to Damascus said it loud and clear: a “severe and serious” response would now await Israeli “terrorism” — the alliance’s word for the repeated Israeli violations of sovereignty.
One party that signed off on the statement was Hezbollah, the Lebanese resistance movement that has been aiding the Syrian government fight the Daesh terrorist group near Lebanese borders.
Hezbollah is based in Lebanon, where, too, Israel feels comfortable carrying out almost daily airspace violations — what the Tel Aviv regime calls “routine reconnaissance missions.”
And thus, there should be more than one lesson for Israel in the Saturday incident.
Hezbollah called the downing of the Israeli F-16 the “start of a new strategic phase.” As that page has turned, Israeli pilots would be wise to keep one finger on the eject button at all times if they venture into foreign skies ever again.
The sun had barely risen on Saturday, February 10, 2018 when Israel deployed warplanes — reportedly at least two F-16 fighter jets — to conduct an airstrike against a position inside Syria, much as it casually had in the past.
The sun was far from the middle of the sky when it turned out nothing had gone casually this time around.
At least one of the Israeli F-16s was shot with a missile, fired by the Syrian air defense, inside Syrian airspace. It never reported back to base. And shortly afterwards, the Israeli military was collecting its charred remains in northern Israel.
The Israeli regime has conducted military attacks in Syria in the past, most of them incognito, with Tel Aviv refusing to publicly claim responsibility while wishing to be attributed credibility. In retrospect, the Israeli military would have wished to keep the Saturday strike incognito, too. If, that is, that would have been possible.
Little was left of the warplane’s fuselage at its crash site on the ground, images of which appeared first on social media and only hours later on news agency feeds.
The two pilots of the jet parachuted out just in time for them not to die in roasting iron scrap but one of them was seriously injured anyway.
Rocket sirens were also sounded in northern Israel; bomb shelters were opened; and air traffic was halted at the Ben Gurion airport outside of Tel Aviv.
Then came reports of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, constantly holding security meetings with military and other staff, imaginably worried, and struggling to look composed in a political and military field of fight where, with Russian military presence, he has little room to wiggle.
Israeli officials attempted a lot of damage control, from claiming that the Israeli warplane had managed to leave Syrian airspace when it was shot, to saying that they were still investigating the cause of its crash some 24 hours after it was shot down.
Tel Aviv also claimed that the Israeli military had struck 12 more positions inside Syria in response to the downing of the plane.
Israeli officials also attempted to attribute some of the responsibility to Russian technology. The Israeli air force’s second-in-command, Tomer Bar, said “at least four different types of Russian-made air defense systems, specifically the SA-5, SA-17, SA-6 and SA-3” had been involved in the downing of the Israeli F-16.
But all of that did little to help avoid the inevitable shattering of the Israeli military image that had come with the downing of the jet. No Israeli warplane had been downed since the first Israeli war on Lebanon in 1982, and the Israeli military had attempted to capitalize on that fortuitous history to build an image of “invincibility” for its air force.
Which came to naught when the Syrian air defense comfortably acquired a radar lock on the Israeli F-16 (reportedly known in Israel as Sufa) and sent it down in flames and smoke.
Israeli media picked up that motif soon after the attack, with one Israeli columnist calling the downing of the jet “a blow to the national pride of a country that holds its air force as invincible.”
All attention was thus duly on Syria’s air defense performance.
But while the Syrian missile repository may be restocked, and its air defense technology upgraded, the most consequential development may be that Damascus now has adequate attention to spare to confront an aggressive Israel. And that has shaken Tel Aviv.
Syria war winding down means trouble for Israel
Syria first experienced Israeli aggression in 1967, when the Tel Aviv regime occupied parts of the Golan Heights. Then, in September 2007, the Israeli military attacked what it believed was a nuclear facility in Syria’s Dayr al-Zawr, in an operation Tel Aviv never claimed responsibility for.
Ever since, Israeli attacks have occurred every now and then, often targeting what the Tel Aviv regime says are convoys of weapons headed for the Lebanese resistance movement of Hezbollah. Especially since 2011, when Damascus has been busy fighting a foreign-sponsored militancy, the Syrian military has absorbed many of those Israeli attacks.
But the Syrian conflict, as it played out over the past seven years, may now be on the cusp of its final chapter, mainly thanks to efforts by Iran, Russia, and Turkey, which have together steered a peace process for Syria known as the Astana process. Four de-escalation zones have been set up, covering much of Syria, and are being monitored under an arrangement designed by the three guarantor states.
The Syrian Arab Army has also retaken much of the territory that had been overrun by militants. The only parts still to be retaken are Idlib Province, in the northwest, and Ghouta, a suburb of the capital, Damascus.
As the Syrian military finds itself fighting less within Syrian borders, it may be ready to stop the occasional Israeli hit-and-runs.
Sovereign skies
In a statement shortly after the Saturday dawn attack by the Israeli jets on a base in central Syria, a group of forces allied to Damascus said it loud and clear: a “severe and serious” response would now await Israeli “terrorism” — the alliance’s word for the repeated Israeli violations of sovereignty.
One party that signed off on the statement was Hezbollah, the Lebanese resistance movement that has been aiding the Syrian government fight the Daesh terrorist group near Lebanese borders.
Hezbollah is based in Lebanon, where, too, Israel feels comfortable carrying out almost daily airspace violations — what the Tel Aviv regime calls “routine reconnaissance missions.”
And thus, there should be more than one lesson for Israel in the Saturday incident.
Hezbollah called the downing of the Israeli F-16 the “start of a new strategic phase.” As that page has turned, Israeli pilots would be wise to keep one finger on the eject button at all times if they venture into foreign skies ever again.
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Iran has rejected as "ridiculous" claims by the Israeli regime that it had intercepted an Iranian drone launched from Syria, stressing the Islamic Republic's military advisory presence in the Arab country is at the request of Syria’s "constitutional and legitimate" government.
"Claims about the flight of an Iranian drone … are too ridiculous to be addressed because the Islamic Republic of Iran has advisory presence in Syria at the request of the country's legitimate and constitutional government," Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Saturday. "The government and army of Syria as an independent country have a legitimate right to defend [the country's] territorial integrity and counter any type of foreign aggression," he added. The Iranian spokesperson emphasized that the "illegitimate" Israeli regime cannot cover up its atrocities and crimes against Muslim nations in the region by playing a blame game and spreading lies. Resilient Syrians will not accept Israeli aggression: Velayati Meanwhile, a senior adviser to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on international affairs said the resilient Syrian people will never tolerate the Israeli regime's aggression. Speaking to reporters in Tehran, Ali Akbar Velayati added that the Syrian government and nation have proved that they would sacrifice themselves to "safeguard their country's territorial integrity, security and independence." He noted that the Syrian people have managed to achieve victory in an "international war", in which more than 80 countries participated to dispatch terrorists to the Arab country. The Syrian military on Saturday hit at least one intruding Israeli F-16 warplane that attacked positions inside the Syrian territory, sending it down in flames and smoke. Syria’s state TV cited a military official as saying that Syrian aerial defense had responded to Israeli “aggression” against an army base in the center of the Arab country. |
Later in the day, the Israeli military claimed that it had attacked positions inside the Syrian territory after it intercepted an Iranian drone launched from Syria.
A pro-Syrian military alliance said that the Israeli claim about a drone intrusion was bogus.
The alliance said in a statement that Israel had targeted a drone base in Syria whose unmanned aircraft were used against the Daesh terrorist group.
It also pledged a “severe and serious” response to the Israeli act of “terrorism.”
A senior commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said on Saturday that Iran would confirm no report coming out of Israel “because the Israelis are liars.”
Brigadier General Hossein Salami, the IRGC’s second-in-command, told Tasnim news agency that Iran would only confirm a drone interception if Syria made that confirmation.
He also said that Iran has no military presence in Syria and that the Syrian Army was adequately capable of defending the Syrian territory.
Lebanon condemns Israel’s aggression against Syria
The Lebanese Foreign Ministry, in a statement, denounced Israel’s aggression against Syria, saying Beirut supports Damascus’ “legitimate right” to defend itself and respond to Israel's "aggression.”
The statement added that such "aggressive policy" threatens stability in the region and urged concerned countries to "rein in" Israel.
The Lebanese Defense Ministry also denounced the use of Lebanon’s air space for any Israeli strike on Syria.
Separately, Lebanese President Michel Aoun discussed the latest Israeli aggression against Syria with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.
A pro-Syrian military alliance said that the Israeli claim about a drone intrusion was bogus.
The alliance said in a statement that Israel had targeted a drone base in Syria whose unmanned aircraft were used against the Daesh terrorist group.
It also pledged a “severe and serious” response to the Israeli act of “terrorism.”
A senior commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said on Saturday that Iran would confirm no report coming out of Israel “because the Israelis are liars.”
Brigadier General Hossein Salami, the IRGC’s second-in-command, told Tasnim news agency that Iran would only confirm a drone interception if Syria made that confirmation.
He also said that Iran has no military presence in Syria and that the Syrian Army was adequately capable of defending the Syrian territory.
Lebanon condemns Israel’s aggression against Syria
The Lebanese Foreign Ministry, in a statement, denounced Israel’s aggression against Syria, saying Beirut supports Damascus’ “legitimate right” to defend itself and respond to Israel's "aggression.”
The statement added that such "aggressive policy" threatens stability in the region and urged concerned countries to "rein in" Israel.
The Lebanese Defense Ministry also denounced the use of Lebanon’s air space for any Israeli strike on Syria.
Separately, Lebanese President Michel Aoun discussed the latest Israeli aggression against Syria with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.
Below is a quick look at Israel’s acts of military aggression against Syria:
June 9-10, 1967: Israel attacks Syria, occupying the country’s Golan Heights during its Six Day War on Arab territories.
October 5, 2003 (Ain es Saheb airstrike): An Israeli warplane squadron attacks a camp about 24 kilometers northwest of the Syrian capital, Damascus, injuring a civilian guard.
September 6, 2007: Israel attacks Dayr al-Zawr Province in northeastern Syria, striking what it says is a suspected nuclear reactor.
November 11, 2012: Israel fires a “warning shot” in the direction of Syria, alleging that it is responding to a stray mortar round fired from the southwestern Syrian province of Quneitra.
November 17, 2012: Israel opens artillery fire against positions belonging to the Syrian Army, alleging that it was retaliating for attacks on an Israeli patrol near the demilitarized zone. It later stages a direct strike at the source of mortar shells that it says the Syrian Army fired in response to the first Israeli strike.
January 30, 2013: Israeli warplanes strike a convoy that Tel Aviv claims was carrying weapons to Hezbollah.
March 24, 2013: The Israeli military releases a guided missile at a Syrian trench used for deploying machineguns. It alleges it is responding to shots fired at Israeli forces in the occupied Golan Heights, though affirming that none of its troops had been wounded in the alleged incident there.
May 21, 2013: Israeli forces attack what they say is the source of fire targeting an Israeli vehicle in the Golan Heights.
July 17, 2013: The Israeli military fires at a group of unidentified individuals on Syria’s border after an Israeli patrols comes under purported fire near the demilitarized zone.
August 17, 2013: Israeli forces hit a Syrian Army outpost with a guided missile, alleging that they are responding to Syrian mortar rounds.
March 18, 2014: Israel hits Syrian military targets, including a military headquarters and an Army base, with artillery and aerial fire, describing the attacks as tit-for-tat strikes after a purported explosive goes off near an Israeli military vehicle close to the Syrian border. It says one Israeli soldier was killed in the alleged incident.
March 28, 2014: Israeli forces fire volleys of bullets at what the regime calls the source of Syrian mortar shells fired at Israeli military positions on Mount Hermon in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
June 23, 2014: The Israeli regime bombards Syrian Army targets several times, killing at least 10 Syrian soldiers in response to an alleged strike a day earlier on a water truck moving along the border fence.
July 15, 2014: The Israeli military kills 18 Syrians, including eight civilians, in attacks on three locations on Syrian soil. It says it had come under rocket attack in the occupied Golan Heights earlier.
September 23, 2014: Israel downs a Syrian military aircraft that it alleges wandered into the occupied Golan Heights.
August 20, 2015: Israel takes Quneitra and its neighboring province of Rif Dimashq under successive airstrikes, hitting Syrian military outposts and soldiers. The regime claims it had come under rocket fire in the occupied Golan Heights and the Upper Galilee area earlier. It kills five civilians in an attack on a vehicle a day later, claiming it is seeking to take out those behind the rocket attacks.
November 28, 2016: Israel hits an abandoned UN building in the occupied Golan Heights, claiming it is suspected of being used by the militants.
March 16-17, 2017: Israel confirms, for the first time, that it targeted what it called a convoy belonging to the Hezbollah resistance movement near the Syrian ancient city of Palmyra. The attack marked the deepest foray by Israel into Syrian territory yet.
April 23, 2017: Israel’s military strikes positions on the outskirts of Quneitra’s capital city of the same name, killing three forces allied with the Syrian government.
June 24, 2017: Israeli warplanes destroy two Syrian tanks and a machinegun position in response to alleged shells hitting Israel the previous day, killing several Syrian soldiers and civilians.
June 24-26, 2017: Israel kills 13 Syrian soldiers in repeated attacks on Syrian military targets in Quneitra.
October 21, 2017: Israel hits Syrian artillery positions after five mortar rounds come down in an open area in the occupied Golan Heights. Syrian government sources say later that the mortar fire, which caused no damage or casualties, had been aimed at “terrorists linked to Israel.” The terrorists, they say, “had [themselves] launched mortar shells, upon the instructions of the Israeli occupation, on an area of empty land inside the occupied territories to give the Israeli enemy a pretext to carry out its aggression.”
February 10, 2018: The Israeli military conducts strikes against Syrian positions. The Syrian military hits at least one Israeli F-16 warplane during the attacks.
The Israeli military confirms the downing of the F-16.
June 9-10, 1967: Israel attacks Syria, occupying the country’s Golan Heights during its Six Day War on Arab territories.
October 5, 2003 (Ain es Saheb airstrike): An Israeli warplane squadron attacks a camp about 24 kilometers northwest of the Syrian capital, Damascus, injuring a civilian guard.
September 6, 2007: Israel attacks Dayr al-Zawr Province in northeastern Syria, striking what it says is a suspected nuclear reactor.
November 11, 2012: Israel fires a “warning shot” in the direction of Syria, alleging that it is responding to a stray mortar round fired from the southwestern Syrian province of Quneitra.
November 17, 2012: Israel opens artillery fire against positions belonging to the Syrian Army, alleging that it was retaliating for attacks on an Israeli patrol near the demilitarized zone. It later stages a direct strike at the source of mortar shells that it says the Syrian Army fired in response to the first Israeli strike.
January 30, 2013: Israeli warplanes strike a convoy that Tel Aviv claims was carrying weapons to Hezbollah.
March 24, 2013: The Israeli military releases a guided missile at a Syrian trench used for deploying machineguns. It alleges it is responding to shots fired at Israeli forces in the occupied Golan Heights, though affirming that none of its troops had been wounded in the alleged incident there.
May 21, 2013: Israeli forces attack what they say is the source of fire targeting an Israeli vehicle in the Golan Heights.
July 17, 2013: The Israeli military fires at a group of unidentified individuals on Syria’s border after an Israeli patrols comes under purported fire near the demilitarized zone.
August 17, 2013: Israeli forces hit a Syrian Army outpost with a guided missile, alleging that they are responding to Syrian mortar rounds.
March 18, 2014: Israel hits Syrian military targets, including a military headquarters and an Army base, with artillery and aerial fire, describing the attacks as tit-for-tat strikes after a purported explosive goes off near an Israeli military vehicle close to the Syrian border. It says one Israeli soldier was killed in the alleged incident.
March 28, 2014: Israeli forces fire volleys of bullets at what the regime calls the source of Syrian mortar shells fired at Israeli military positions on Mount Hermon in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
June 23, 2014: The Israeli regime bombards Syrian Army targets several times, killing at least 10 Syrian soldiers in response to an alleged strike a day earlier on a water truck moving along the border fence.
July 15, 2014: The Israeli military kills 18 Syrians, including eight civilians, in attacks on three locations on Syrian soil. It says it had come under rocket attack in the occupied Golan Heights earlier.
September 23, 2014: Israel downs a Syrian military aircraft that it alleges wandered into the occupied Golan Heights.
August 20, 2015: Israel takes Quneitra and its neighboring province of Rif Dimashq under successive airstrikes, hitting Syrian military outposts and soldiers. The regime claims it had come under rocket fire in the occupied Golan Heights and the Upper Galilee area earlier. It kills five civilians in an attack on a vehicle a day later, claiming it is seeking to take out those behind the rocket attacks.
November 28, 2016: Israel hits an abandoned UN building in the occupied Golan Heights, claiming it is suspected of being used by the militants.
March 16-17, 2017: Israel confirms, for the first time, that it targeted what it called a convoy belonging to the Hezbollah resistance movement near the Syrian ancient city of Palmyra. The attack marked the deepest foray by Israel into Syrian territory yet.
April 23, 2017: Israel’s military strikes positions on the outskirts of Quneitra’s capital city of the same name, killing three forces allied with the Syrian government.
June 24, 2017: Israeli warplanes destroy two Syrian tanks and a machinegun position in response to alleged shells hitting Israel the previous day, killing several Syrian soldiers and civilians.
June 24-26, 2017: Israel kills 13 Syrian soldiers in repeated attacks on Syrian military targets in Quneitra.
October 21, 2017: Israel hits Syrian artillery positions after five mortar rounds come down in an open area in the occupied Golan Heights. Syrian government sources say later that the mortar fire, which caused no damage or casualties, had been aimed at “terrorists linked to Israel.” The terrorists, they say, “had [themselves] launched mortar shells, upon the instructions of the Israeli occupation, on an area of empty land inside the occupied territories to give the Israeli enemy a pretext to carry out its aggression.”
February 10, 2018: The Israeli military conducts strikes against Syrian positions. The Syrian military hits at least one Israeli F-16 warplane during the attacks.
The Israeli military confirms the downing of the F-16.
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) on Saturday announced that Israel attacked 12 Syrian and Iranian targets in Syria in what it described as large-scale raids.
According to the IOF, the targets in Syria included three air-defense batteries and four Iranian sites.
An Israeli army spokesman told journalists the Syrians and Iranians were “playing with fire”, but insisted Israel was “not looking to escalate the situation”.
Earlier on Saturday, an Israeli fighter jet crashed after coming under fire from Syrian air defenses during attacks against “Iranian targets” in the war-torn country.
Syria fired anti-aircraft missiles at the F-16 fighter plane, causing the pilots to eject, the Israeli army spokesman said.
According to the IOF, the targets in Syria included three air-defense batteries and four Iranian sites.
An Israeli army spokesman told journalists the Syrians and Iranians were “playing with fire”, but insisted Israel was “not looking to escalate the situation”.
Earlier on Saturday, an Israeli fighter jet crashed after coming under fire from Syrian air defenses during attacks against “Iranian targets” in the war-torn country.
Syria fired anti-aircraft missiles at the F-16 fighter plane, causing the pilots to eject, the Israeli army spokesman said.
An Israeli F-16 fighter jet crashed in the north of Israel after Syria responded with anti-aircraft fire to an Israeli aerial offensive targeting what the Israeli occupation army claimed to be Iranian drone control systems in Syria.
"Massive Syrian anti-air fire, one F16 crashed in Israel, pilots safe,” Israeli army spokesman Jonathan Conricus said on Twitter.
The incident took place after the Israel army claimed it had intercepted an Iranian drone, which crossed from the territory of Syria into Israel. In response, the Israeli military attacked Iranian positions in Syria. The operation triggered anti-aircraft fire by Syrian forces.
The Israeli occupation army has put its air force on high alert following its warplane crash and said its senior commanders would hold an urgent meeting to assess the situation and agree on a response.
Downed Israeli F-16 Confirmed by Tel Aviv
Israel has admitted the fall of one of its fighter jets that raided Syria, earlier this morning, after an Iranian drone was spotted and shot down in the Golan Heights, on the border with Syria.
The Israeli army said, Saturday morning, that it intercepted an Iranian drone launched from Syria into Israeli territory. In response to the provocation, Israeli forces attacked Iranian targets in Syria according Haaretz Israeli news paper.
According to the Israeli occupation army, Syrian anti-aircraft missiles targeted an Israeli F-16, prompting the pilots to eject.
The plane went down in northern Israel and the two pilots were taken to the hospital in stable condition.
Military spokesperson and Brigadier General Ronen Manelis said “We identified an Iranian drone UAV which took off from Syrian territory.
The spokesperson said the drone was identified by Israeli air force systems and was downed by an Israeli helicopter adding that the Iranian drone fell in our territory and is in our possession.”
“As part of the country’s defenses, sirens were activated but there was no danger for the residents of Beit She’an. It was decided to attack the trailer from which the Iranians launched the UAV. This was a surgical action deep in Syria, target destroyed.”
The Israeli army spokesperson added :”This is a serious Iranian attack on Israeli territory. Iran is dragging the region into a situation in which it doesn’t know how it will end. We are prepared for a variety of incidents…whoever is responsible for this incident is the one who will pay the price.”
Syrian television claimed Saturday morning more than one Israeli aircraft was hit by Syria’s defense systems.
Due to Syrian anti-aircraft fire, says the army, rocket sirens sounded in multiple areas of northern Israel, first in thenorthern Israeli town of Beit She’an and later in the surrounding areas and Golan Heights.
Residents reported hearing many explosions in the last half hour and heavy aerial activity in the area near Israel’s borders with Jordan and Syria.
The Syrian army and rebels in the Syrian Golan Heights are currently exchanging heavy fire.
PNN further reports that the Russian Foreign Ministry has called to respect Syria’s sovereignty and the territorial integrity of the countries in the Middle East following the aerial attacks of Israeli Occupation Forces against the targets in central Syria.
“Moscow is deeply concerned with the latest developments and attacks on Syria. The danger of the escalation of tensions within and around the de-escalation zones, which has become an important factor in reducing violence in Syria is of particular concern,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted on its website.
The statement reads that the Syrian government forces “are complying with the existing arrangements to provide the consistent functioning of the de-escalation zone in the south-west of the country.”
“We urge all the involved parties to exercise restraint and avoid any steps that could lead to aggravation of the situation. We consider it necessary to unconditionally respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria and other countries of the region.”
Israeli occupation military spokesman said on Saturday that Iran and Syria were “playing with fire” but noted that Tel Aviv was not seeking an escalation after Damascus downed an Israeli F16 fighter jet which was striking military post in Syria.
Occupation military spokesman Jonathan Conricus told journalists in a phone conference the Syrians and Iranians were “playing with fire” adding that the israel was “not looking to escalate the situation.”
“This is the most blatant and severe Iranian violation of Israeli sovereignty in the last years,” Conricus said, referring to what he described as an Iranian drone entering the so-called “Israeli airspace” from Syria.
“That’s why our response is as severe as it is.”
Earlier on Saturday, Syrian air defenses shot down an Israeli F16 fighter jet, which was taking part in a new aggression against Damascus in the country’s center. Two Israeli pilots ejected from the fighter jet, with one seriously injured, according to Israeli media.
For his part Lieutenant commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps warned the Israeli regime of a hell that Iran could create for Israeli Zionists, saying all American military bases in the region are within range of Iranian strikes.
The Iranian forces can destroy all American bases across the region by launching attacks from inside the country, Brigadier General Hossein Salami said on Saturday.
Iran can create a hell for the Zionist regime of Israel, the commander added, recommending the Tel Aviv regime to abandon the dream of conquering lands from “the river to the sea”, a term Israel uses to refer to territories from the River Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea.
His comments came after the downing of an Israeli warplane by the Syria Army.
"Massive Syrian anti-air fire, one F16 crashed in Israel, pilots safe,” Israeli army spokesman Jonathan Conricus said on Twitter.
The incident took place after the Israel army claimed it had intercepted an Iranian drone, which crossed from the territory of Syria into Israel. In response, the Israeli military attacked Iranian positions in Syria. The operation triggered anti-aircraft fire by Syrian forces.
The Israeli occupation army has put its air force on high alert following its warplane crash and said its senior commanders would hold an urgent meeting to assess the situation and agree on a response.
Downed Israeli F-16 Confirmed by Tel Aviv
Israel has admitted the fall of one of its fighter jets that raided Syria, earlier this morning, after an Iranian drone was spotted and shot down in the Golan Heights, on the border with Syria.
The Israeli army said, Saturday morning, that it intercepted an Iranian drone launched from Syria into Israeli territory. In response to the provocation, Israeli forces attacked Iranian targets in Syria according Haaretz Israeli news paper.
According to the Israeli occupation army, Syrian anti-aircraft missiles targeted an Israeli F-16, prompting the pilots to eject.
The plane went down in northern Israel and the two pilots were taken to the hospital in stable condition.
Military spokesperson and Brigadier General Ronen Manelis said “We identified an Iranian drone UAV which took off from Syrian territory.
The spokesperson said the drone was identified by Israeli air force systems and was downed by an Israeli helicopter adding that the Iranian drone fell in our territory and is in our possession.”
“As part of the country’s defenses, sirens were activated but there was no danger for the residents of Beit She’an. It was decided to attack the trailer from which the Iranians launched the UAV. This was a surgical action deep in Syria, target destroyed.”
The Israeli army spokesperson added :”This is a serious Iranian attack on Israeli territory. Iran is dragging the region into a situation in which it doesn’t know how it will end. We are prepared for a variety of incidents…whoever is responsible for this incident is the one who will pay the price.”
Syrian television claimed Saturday morning more than one Israeli aircraft was hit by Syria’s defense systems.
Due to Syrian anti-aircraft fire, says the army, rocket sirens sounded in multiple areas of northern Israel, first in thenorthern Israeli town of Beit She’an and later in the surrounding areas and Golan Heights.
Residents reported hearing many explosions in the last half hour and heavy aerial activity in the area near Israel’s borders with Jordan and Syria.
The Syrian army and rebels in the Syrian Golan Heights are currently exchanging heavy fire.
PNN further reports that the Russian Foreign Ministry has called to respect Syria’s sovereignty and the territorial integrity of the countries in the Middle East following the aerial attacks of Israeli Occupation Forces against the targets in central Syria.
“Moscow is deeply concerned with the latest developments and attacks on Syria. The danger of the escalation of tensions within and around the de-escalation zones, which has become an important factor in reducing violence in Syria is of particular concern,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted on its website.
The statement reads that the Syrian government forces “are complying with the existing arrangements to provide the consistent functioning of the de-escalation zone in the south-west of the country.”
“We urge all the involved parties to exercise restraint and avoid any steps that could lead to aggravation of the situation. We consider it necessary to unconditionally respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria and other countries of the region.”
Israeli occupation military spokesman said on Saturday that Iran and Syria were “playing with fire” but noted that Tel Aviv was not seeking an escalation after Damascus downed an Israeli F16 fighter jet which was striking military post in Syria.
Occupation military spokesman Jonathan Conricus told journalists in a phone conference the Syrians and Iranians were “playing with fire” adding that the israel was “not looking to escalate the situation.”
“This is the most blatant and severe Iranian violation of Israeli sovereignty in the last years,” Conricus said, referring to what he described as an Iranian drone entering the so-called “Israeli airspace” from Syria.
“That’s why our response is as severe as it is.”
Earlier on Saturday, Syrian air defenses shot down an Israeli F16 fighter jet, which was taking part in a new aggression against Damascus in the country’s center. Two Israeli pilots ejected from the fighter jet, with one seriously injured, according to Israeli media.
For his part Lieutenant commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps warned the Israeli regime of a hell that Iran could create for Israeli Zionists, saying all American military bases in the region are within range of Iranian strikes.
The Iranian forces can destroy all American bases across the region by launching attacks from inside the country, Brigadier General Hossein Salami said on Saturday.
Iran can create a hell for the Zionist regime of Israel, the commander added, recommending the Tel Aviv regime to abandon the dream of conquering lands from “the river to the sea”, a term Israel uses to refer to territories from the River Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea.
His comments came after the downing of an Israeli warplane by the Syria Army.
3 feb 2018
Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper revealed that the Israeli army has decided to establish a new force of ground-to-ground missiles after a long debate over the need for a rocket force with a range of 150-300 kilometers.
According to the plan, the army will be first equipped with a missile system with a range of 150 kilometers that is capable of firing 400 rockets within one hour. At a later stage, missiles with a range of 300 kilometers that can reach targets in Syria and Lebanon will be added.
The project is expected to cost up to $2 billion spread out over a decade depending on the number of missiles the Israeli army will acquire.
This new project comes in view of the escalating tone of Israeli threats against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel's Minister of Intelligence Yisrael Katz in December threatened that Israel would "send Lebanon back to the Stone Age" in any war that might erupt.
These threats stem from Israeli security concerns over the growing military influence of Iran, Hezbollah's main supporter, in the region.
According to the plan, the army will be first equipped with a missile system with a range of 150 kilometers that is capable of firing 400 rockets within one hour. At a later stage, missiles with a range of 300 kilometers that can reach targets in Syria and Lebanon will be added.
The project is expected to cost up to $2 billion spread out over a decade depending on the number of missiles the Israeli army will acquire.
This new project comes in view of the escalating tone of Israeli threats against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel's Minister of Intelligence Yisrael Katz in December threatened that Israel would "send Lebanon back to the Stone Age" in any war that might erupt.
These threats stem from Israeli security concerns over the growing military influence of Iran, Hezbollah's main supporter, in the region.
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