20th March, 2017
The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned Israel’s Ambassador to Moscow to protest an Israeli military strike near the Syrian city of Palmyra, news agency Interfax quoted a ministry official as saying on Monday.
The officials sad that Amb. Gary Koren was called for discussions at the ministry.
On Friday, Syria’s army high command said Israeli jets had breached Syrian air space and attacked a military target near Palmyra, in what it described as an act of aggression that aided Islamic State.
Suria’s high command said in a statement that Israeli jets breached Syrian air space early in the morning and attacked a military target near Palmyra in what it described as an act of aggression that aided Islamic State.
It said its air defences shot down one of the Israeli jets over what it called “occupied ground” and damaged another.
Meanwhile, the Israeli Army confirmed it had conducted airstrikes on several targets in Syria, Israel National News reported.
However, the Israel Defence Forces insists that none of the jets was harmed.
“At no point was the safety of Israeli civilians or the IAF [Israeli Air Force] aircraft compromised,” an Israeli military spokesman said.
NAN reports that after Israeli Air Force planes struck several targets in Syria on Thursday night, Damascus retaliated by activating its air defence systems and firing a number of missiles at Israeli jets, according to Haaretz.
The latest incident is the third time that Israel has bombed targets in Syrian territory.
In mid-January, Israeli forces hit the Mezzeh Military Airport west of Damascus, with the facility rocked by several explosions.
On Dec. 7, the state agency SANA reported that multiple surface-to-surface missiles had been fired by the IDF from the Golan Heights.
Syrian authorities have repeatedly accused Israel of endorsing terrorism by carrying out the attacks.
Regarding the strikes, Israeli authorities previously said they were targeting positions of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group inside Syria.
Israel views the organisation as enemy militants