Tabnak – After the Syrian air defense managed to shot down an Israeli fighter jet in Golan, the long-standing equations of the Syrian conflict have actually started to change. While various parties are warning Tel-Aviv not to move toward further escalation, the Israelis are intensifying their activities at the Syrian border.
In this vein, the Israeli military has reportedly deployed anti-missile systems to the Syrian border, a day after it lost an advanced F-16 warplane in Syria's first serious air defense operation to confront Israeli violations of its airspace.
The Jerusalem Post on Sunday cited witnesses as saying that they had seen convoys of "missile defense batteries" north-bound near the city of Baka al-Gharbiya. It said others had posted photos of "trucks carrying the batteries on central highways in northern Israel."
Early on Saturday morning, reportedly eight Israeli warplanes were deployed to target positions inside Syria. The Syrian military, which has previously absorbed occasional Israeli strikes, activated its air defense systems and shot down at least one Israeli F-16.
Meanwhile, a senior Russian official has warned against further escalation in the region. "We call on everyone to be calm, to prevent a very dangerous escalation in countries of the region," RIA Novosti quoted Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov as saying.
Following the Israeli airstrikes, President Vladimir Putin on Saturday also asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during phone talks to avoid moves that could lead to “a new round of dangerous consequences for the region.”
The official announcement by the Russian Foreign Ministry objected to the violation of Syrian sovereignty and totally ignored Tel Aviv's claims that it had responded to the infiltration of an Iranian drone into Israeli airspace.
It should be noted that the Israeli military has long boasted of superior aerial power. Before Saturday's crash, the Tel Aviv regime had not lost a warplane in 35 years — since the first Israeli war on Lebanon, in 1982.
The downing by Syria of the Israeli jet worked to deflate that narrative, particularly since it was only the first time Syria was actively confronting intruding Israeli aircraft.
Various Israeli news articles and analyses reflected the sentiment that the self-proclaimed Israeli "invincibility" had been shattered. Reports spoke of "cracks" in Israeli "arrogance," and "a blow to the pride" of the Israeli regime.
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested on Sunday that the Israeli attacks against positions in Syria would continue. He said the regime had conducted strikes after the downing of the F-16, which he said showed "that our modus operandi has not changed one bit."
