Hebrew media said today, Friday, February 25, that Israel deals with the “war” between Russia and Ukraine from the angle of what is happening in Syria.
The Hebrew newspaper “Yedioth Ahronoth” stated that in the short term, “the Israeli angle in the war between Russia and Ukraine is what is happening in Syria, and how will the Russians react in the face of air force attacks against Iranian targets and arms shipments destined for Syria and ( Hezbollah (Lebanese).
Fear of embarrassing Shoigu
The newspaper indicated that the Israeli army refused to carry out an attack on targets in Syria, during the visit of the Russian Defense Minister, Sergei Shoigu, to it earlier this month.
She emphasized that the army refused to carry out this attack for fear of embarrassing Shoigu, and Russia taking a strong position on the Israeli Air Force attacks, and preventing the freedom of Israeli military action in Syria itself.
“In recent months, security cooperation has been documented between representatives of the Israeli army and the Russians,” according to what the newspaper said, noting that “the common interest between the two sides is to expel the Iranians from Syria, each for its own reasons, with the desire of the Russians to To be the sole sponsor of (Bashar al-Assad).
It noted that a Syrian anti-aircraft missile was launched after an attack by Israeli Air Force planes in the “Latakia” port area.
And “Just last week, during the tension, the Russian Defense Minister visited Syria to tell us how important the arena is to them. Another important and interesting detail is that the Israeli army refused an attack because of this so as not to embarrass it,” according to Yedioth Ahronoth.
The newspaper explained that “the next test will be the continued activity of the Israeli Air Force in the region, when the Russians will have the option to significantly disrupt the activity given that Israel will not want to harm its systems.”
The newspaper confirmed that the Russians did not activate their air defense systems during the Israeli attacks this month in Syria.
Air freedom in Syria
Against the backdrop of statements by Israeli officials and the attempt to navigate between the two powers, the United States and Russia, the test will be whether air freedom will be preserved in an area very important to the Israeli army to prevent the intensification of the “Hezbollah” attack. God” on precision missiles, drones, air defense systems and, of course, weapons, to prove the presence of the Iranians in Syria.
The newspaper confirmed that the General Staff of the Israeli army is preparing for any scenario, and also for what was defined as a kind of “temporary calm” on the part of the Russians in Syria.
Israeli air raids targeted points in the vicinity of the city of Damascus, just one day after they targeted military sites in the Quneitra governorate, according to what the Syrian News Agency (SANA) said, Thursday, February 24.
On the 17th of February, Israel targeted, with several surface-to-surface missiles, from the occupied Syrian Golan, several points in the vicinity of the town of Zakia in the southern countryside of Damascus.
On the 9th of February, an Israeli bombardment targeted some points in the vicinity of the city of Damascus, which led to the death of a regime soldier and the wounding of five others, in addition to material damage to a number of houses and cars in the city of Qudsaya, in the countryside of Damascus.
Israel supports Ukraine
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, in a brief press conference at the Israeli Foreign Ministry headquarters, Thursday, February 24, condemned the Russian “invasion” against Ukraine, and considered it a violation of the international order.
He said that “war is not a solution to the differences, and it is still possible to stop the dispute and settle the crisis,” according to the “Times of Israel” website.
Lapid expressed his country's readiness and desire to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, noting that Israel has good relations with Russia and Ukraine.
The Russian mission to the United Nations announced yesterday, Thursday, Russia's non-recognition of Israel's sovereignty over the occupied Syrian Golan, after Israel announced its condemnation of the Russian military operation in Ukraine.
The mission said in a tweet on its Twitter account, "We are concerned about Tel Aviv's announced plans to expand settlement activity in the occupied area, which contradicts the provisions of the 1949 Geneva Convention."
She added, “Russia does not recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which is part of Syria.”
This came after Israel announced its support for the territorial integrity of Ukraine following the Russian escalation, as the Israeli Foreign Ministry issued a statement, on February 23, announcing its support for Ukraine.
The ministry deliberately refrained from mentioning Russia or Russian President Vladimir Putin in the statement, to prevent the outbreak of a conflict that would make it difficult for Israel to continue its attacks in Syria, according to the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz.
Yesterday, Thursday, Putin announced the start of a “special military operation” in the Donbass region, which includes the regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, whose independence Putin officially recognized a few days ago, which caused international condemnation, followed by the imposition of sanctions on Russia.–