On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu again addressed the changing strategic situation in Syria after Russia delivered its advanced S-300 missile shield to the army of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.
At the start of the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said he had conducted a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin and that the two leaders “agreed to meet soon in order to continue the important inter-military security coordination.”
At the same time, the Israeli PM vowed, “Israel will act at all times to prevent Iran from establishing a military presence in Syria and to thwart the transfer of lethal weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon.”
Netanyahu’s remarks came after his Minister of Regional Cooperation Tzachi Hanegbi (Likud) claimed the Israeli Air Force is able to overcome Russia’s latest hostile act against the Jewish state.
Hanegbi last week said Israel’s new 'Adir' warplane, a modified version of the American Lockheed F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, was able to carry out combat missions against Iran-related targets in Syria without being detected by the S-300 anti-aircraft batteries.
“You know that we have stealth fighters, the best planes in the world. These batteries (S-300) are not even able to detect them,” Hanegbi told Israeli media.
Last week, Russia delivered the S-300 to Syria in the middle of the night but said it would take another three months before Syrian army officers would be able to operate the missile shield independently.
It appears Israel is now working in tandem with the United States to counter the threat posed by the new Russian-made Syrian anti-aircraft batteries.
During his meeting with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly almost two weeks ago Netanyahu said he had “got everything he wanted from Trump” regarding the crisis with Russia over Syria.
The Israeli-Russian crisis started after the Russian army falsely blamed Israel’s air force (IAF) for the downing of a Ilyushin IL-20 reconnaissance plane which was shot down with a S-200 SAM missile killing 15 Russian servicemen on Sept. 20. READ MORE
At the same time, the Israeli PM vowed, “Israel will act at all times to prevent Iran from establishing a military presence in Syria and to thwart the transfer of lethal weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon.”
Netanyahu’s remarks came after his Minister of Regional Cooperation Tzachi Hanegbi (Likud) claimed the Israeli Air Force is able to overcome Russia’s latest hostile act against the Jewish state.
Hanegbi last week said Israel’s new 'Adir' warplane, a modified version of the American Lockheed F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, was able to carry out combat missions against Iran-related targets in Syria without being detected by the S-300 anti-aircraft batteries.
“You know that we have stealth fighters, the best planes in the world. These batteries (S-300) are not even able to detect them,” Hanegbi told Israeli media.
Last week, Russia delivered the S-300 to Syria in the middle of the night but said it would take another three months before Syrian army officers would be able to operate the missile shield independently.
It appears Israel is now working in tandem with the United States to counter the threat posed by the new Russian-made Syrian anti-aircraft batteries.
During his meeting with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly almost two weeks ago Netanyahu said he had “got everything he wanted from Trump” regarding the crisis with Russia over Syria.
The Israeli-Russian crisis started after the Russian army falsely blamed Israel’s air force (IAF) for the downing of a Ilyushin IL-20 reconnaissance plane which was shot down with a S-200 SAM missile killing 15 Russian servicemen on Sept. 20. READ MORE
