[Ariad: The other shoe has fallen! A Russian plane entered the SYRIAN AIR SPACE over the Golan, illegally occupied by Israel and which — a new euphemism — they call “Israeli-controlled airspace.”
Please note: not “Israel-controlled” — which would be a factual description because they do control the illegally occupied land from which they launch attacks against Syria, but “ISRAELI-controlled” which implies it is”not only occupied but “Israeli.”]
“Jerusalem (AFP) – A Russian warplane recently entered Israeli-controlled airspace from Syria but the intrusion was resolved without incident, Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon said on Sunday.
“There was a slight intrusion a mile (1.6 kilometres) deep by a Russian plane from Syria into our airspace, but it was immediately resolved and the Russian plane returned towards Syria,” Yaalon told public radio.
“It was apparently an error by the pilot who was flying near the Golan.”
Israel seized most of the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967 and later annexed the territory in a move never recognised by the international community.
Yaalon recalled that Israel and Russia had made arrangements to avoid clashes over Syria, with the agreement said to include a “hotline” and information sharing.
He said “Russian planes do not intend to attack us, which is why we must not automatically react and shoot them down when an error occurs.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks in Moscow in September to discuss ways of avoiding accidental clashes.
……..
Israel has reportedly launched more than a dozen air strikes in Syria since 2013, mainly targeting alleged arms transfers to Hezbollah, and Israeli officials were believed to have feared that Russia’s intervention could limit their room for manoeuvre. [emphasis added]
Israel opposes Assad, but has sought to avoid being dragged into the war.
It also fears that Iran could increase its support for Hezbollah and other militant groups as international sanctions are gradually lifted under a July nuclear deal that Moscow helped negotiate between Tehran and world powers.
In September 2014, Israel downed a Russian-made Syrian warplane over the Golan Heights in the first such incident in three decades and warned it would respond “forcefully” if its security was threatened.
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Oy, this will indeed “limit their room for manoeuvre.”
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My name is Putin. Vladimir Putin.
I like it, Peter. 🙂
“Putin. Vladimir Putin.”
Also: “Stirred, not shaken.”
Paraphrasing form the same source, Peter:
“The first time, Mr Goldfinger, was happenstance.
The second time, Mr Goldfinger, will be coincidence.
But the third time, Mr. Goldfinger, will be enemy action.”