by WorldTribune Staff, July 29, 2016
Israeli jets are being allowed to attack targets inside Syria despite Russia’s “anti-aircraft umbrella,” an Israeli analyst said.
Most recently, the Israel Air Force attacked a Syrian target in Kuneitra after mortar fire “leaked out” from the Syrian civil war to Israel’s Golan Heights.
Israel “could have been heavily criticized in the international arena for its attack – but it wasn’t,” said analyst Dr. Aaron Lerner of IMRA (Independent Media Review and Analysis). This “reflects a significant achievement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that is mostly ignored.”
Netanyahu and Russian President Putin apparently reached an understanding in a meeting in Moscow last month, Lerner said. The understanding “allows [Israel], under various circumstances, to attack both Syrian and Hizbullah military targets within Syria – despite the deployment of a protective Russian anti-aircraft umbrella covering the entire country.”
Lerner added that he “doubts” Israel would have had a similar understanding with the U.S. if it was an American anti-aircraft umbrella.
Iran, which is one of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s top allies, criticized Russia for allowing Israel to strike inside Syria. “The anti-aircraft systems that Russia has brought to Syria shouldn’t allow even one single [enemy] aircraft to fly over the country – but this is not happening,” said Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Brig. Gen. Khosro Orouj.
Meanwhile, Syria continues to pay a heavy price in the 50-month-old civil war. This week, 38 soldiers were killed in a tunnel blast, eight people were killed by mortar fire in Damascus, and 19 civilians were killed in fighting in Haleb.
It was also reported today that Assad made a secret visit to Russia prior to Netanyahu’s visit, and discussed with Putin a plan by which Israel would withdraw from the Golan Heights.
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