Israel Threatens To ‘Destroy’ Syrian Air Defenses
March 20, 2017
Syria’s military said it had downed an Israeli plane and hit another as they were carrying out pre-dawn strikes near Palmyra.
Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman attends a special cabinet meeting to mark Jerusalem Day in Ein Lavan, on the outskirts of Jerusalem, Thursday, June 2, 2016.
Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Sunday threatened to destroy Syrian air defense systems after they fired ground-to-air missiles at Israeli warplanes carrying out strikes.
“The next time the Syrians use their air defense systems against our planes we will destroy them without the slightest hesitation,” Lieberman said on Israeli public radio.
Israeli warplanes hit several targets in Syria on Friday, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying the strikes targeted weapons bound for Lebanon’s Shia Hezbollah movement.
‘The next time the Syrians use their air defense systems against our planes we will destroy them without the slightest hesitation’
– Avigdor Lieberman, Israeli Defense Minister
Syria’s military said it had downed one of the Israeli planes and hit another as they were carrying out the pre-dawn strikes near the famed desert city of Palmyra that it recaptured from militants this month.
The Israeli military denied that any planes had been hit. The Syrian government has made similar claims in the past.
An Israeli army statement said “several anti-aircraft missiles” were fired following the raid but that none hit their targets.
