Israel Strikes Syrian Targets After Intercepting Iranian Drone Jet crashes in Israeli territory, but military says it wasn’t shot down By Rory Jones
https://www.wsj.com/articles/israel-strikes-syrian-targets-after-intercepting-iranian-drone-1518251964
Israel’s military said it carried out extensive airstrikes on Syrian targets Saturday after it intercepted an Iranian drone launched from Syria that had infiltrated its airspace, intensifying tensions between the two neighbors.
The Israeli jets came under fire from Syrian antiaircraft missiles and one crashed in Israeli territory, the military said. The F-16 aircraft wasn’t shot down and the pilots ejected, with one evacuated to the hospital in a serious condition, it added.
Syrian state media called the strikes a “new Israeli aggression.” The shots set off warning sirens in northern Israel of an imminent rocket attack, the Israeli military said.
While Israel and Syria have exchanged volleys frequently in recent months and the Israeli military has intercepted enemy drones, the incident Saturday was unusual in that Israel for the first time claimed it involved an Iranian unmanned aerial vehicle.
It was also the first time Israel has lost a jet during a strike in Syria, despite dozens of airstrikes in recent years.
The Israeli military “sees the Iranian attack and the Syrian response as a severe and irregular violation of Israeli sovereignty,” it said.
Israel has amplified criticism of Iranian attempts to set up military bases and weapons factories in Syria in recent months, warning it would engage in a conflict with the Syrian regime should Iran and Tehran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah entrench on its border.
The alleged involvement of Iran in Saturday’s incident heightens concerns that Israel could be drawn into a war with Syria and its allies.
“This direct Iranian operation against Israel is a major escalation,” said Dan Shapiro, former U.S. ambassador to Israel and national security adviser for the Obama administration.
“There is a risk of these events escalating into a full-blown conflict if Hezbollah is tempted, or instructed by Iran, to join the fray,” said Mr. Shapiro, who is now a senior fellow at the Tel Aviv-based Institute for National Security Studies.
A spokesperson for the Syrian regime couldn’t immediately be reached for comment on Saturday’s incident. An official at Iran’s United Nations mission didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Iran has denied it is seeking to establish bases in Syria, but has said it would continue to defend Syrian territory from foreign forces.
Russia and Iran are the main backers of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the yearslong civil conflict in Syria and Tehran vows to destroy the Israeli state.
Israel fears that after the fall of Islamic State and as the Syrian regime consolidates power in large parts of Syria, Iran will set up military bases there that could threaten Israeli security.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Moscow late last month for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss Iranian attempts to further set up militarily in Syria and create precision missile factories on the ground there.
“I made it clear that we will not agree to either of these developments,” Mr. Netanyahu said in a statement after the meeting. “And will act accordingly.”
Israel has largely stayed out of the Syrian war, though it has launched some 100 airstrikes on what it has said were convoys ferrying Iranian weapons to Hezbollah through Syrian territory.
The military also has increasingly hit what it claims are Iranian-controlled military bases in Syria in recent months, increasing tensions between the two sides.
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