Israel’s defense minister says a Russian plane recently penetrated Israeli airspace but was not shot down thanks to open communications between the two countries.
Moshe Yaalon said Sunday the jet entered about a mile (1.5 kilometers) into Israeli airspace by “mistake” and immediately turned around back to Syria when the Russians were notified. For two months, Russia has been carrying out airstrikes to support Syrian President Bashar Assad.
He said Israel recently opened a channel for coordination with Russia “to prevent misunderstandings.” He told Israel Radio that “Russian planes don’t intend to attack us and therefore there is no need to automatically, even if there is some kind of mistake, to shoot them down.”
Yaalon’s remarks come amid a spat between Ankara and Moscow after Turkey downed a Russian warplane.
(AP)
3 Responses
That’s the difference between a Jew, who thinks, and a Muslim who only knows how to react. I’m sure we’re not necessarily Putin’s favorite people but at least we don’t have a major international incident going on with him.
#1, Putin himself is an ohev Yisroel. As far as his people go, it is a more complex question.
What’s with these Russian Pilots?