An Airbus 320 passenger jet with 172 people on board was nearly shot down over the Syrian capital city of Damascus on Thursday morning, as Syrian missile defense systems activated to respond to an incoming Israeli attack on the Damascus airport.
Russian Defense Ministry officials suggested that they don’t think the incident was coincidental, but rather that the Israeli military is deliberately using passenger jets for cover while attacking Syrian targets.
Israel likely considers this a win-win strategy, because either Syria doesn’t contest attacking Israeli planes, letting them strike with impunity, or Syria accidentally hits a civilian plane and gets condemned internationally for that.
In the case of the Airbus, which was flying out of Tehran, Israeli F-16s were active in the air by the airport when it was hoping to land, and fired air-to-surface missiles at the airport. The civilian plane was escorted safely out of the area, and landed in Hmeimim Airbase, a base further west in use by Russian planes.
Israel’s attacks on Damascus that night were reported, with one monitor saying 23 people were believed killed. Israel has not commented so far, and probably won’t with Russia accusing them of endangering civilian planes.
Syrian state media confirmed the attacks, saying that their missile defense had intercepted a number of the Israeli missiles. State media did not appear to repeat Russian reports on the near-shootdown.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights suggested that the bulk of the slain in the Israeli attack were Iraqis from Jisr al-Baghdad, though a number of Syrian soldiers were also killed in an attack on their air defense system.
Didn’t they pull this stunt already with a Russian military plane with deadly consequence? Dick move.
Yes, they did just that exactly, were warned off — but clearly not heard. This is not a good time to do anything about Israel. The politics is toxic — and Russia will try not to do become the topic of Israeli internal debate. The million plus Russian speakers in Israel have issues that this upcoming election can decide. Very delicate business. The problem will have to be dealt with, however. But it will be easier if the post-election government shuts out issue of Orthodox parties control over full rights for people excluded from registrars of births, marriages and deaths. Russia cannot afford to hurt Russian speakers before election. And since this election in Israel never seems to end — there is a great deal of enjoyment of impunity in Israel at present.
With every passing day and every such act of cruelty and entitlement — there are more nails in the coffin of Israel’s standing globally.
Not to mention that Bibi is Putin’s bro.
His older and domineering brother.
Not at all. Russia has a broad view of politics of the region, and is building common interests that will endure. Strategically, Israel has no future as an agent of provocation. Israel’s neighborhood is changing. Appearances can be deceptive. For. example, Iraq is infinitely in better position then it ever was. Most of the internal feuds have lost their steam, or played themselves out in the course of last decade. Everybody is poorer, but wiser, and unlike ten years ago — have support in intelligence sharing, military and economy that does not depend exclusively on US. I would say that similarly Egypt and Turkey are taking string independent steps in defense of their national interest. Even places like Saudi Arabia and UAE are infinitely more diversified then they were a decade ago. Syria will over time establish itself as a modern state competing in every way with Israel.
Given the abandon with which Israel thinks itself superior — hope people notice the whistling past the graveyard effect. As the region is getting more independent, more diverse in economic and military support — Israel can recognize the writing on the wall.
Being deeply divided and with animosities running high — Israel can and will still cause damage to Palestinians —but its scope of external action has been steadily narrowing.
The test of it all is Iran. The test is — can US attack and defeat Iran. All provocations aside — tankers sabotage, Saudi oil facilities bombing, murder of Iraqi soldiers on Iraqi soil, assassination of Iranian general in a diplomatic mission — nothing came out of it.
Only a serious attack on Iranian military installations can at this stage help US and Israel’s positions in the region. Degrading Iran’s defense capabilities is the only solution to the degraded posture.
And that would mean engaging much wider military assets. Of course — being prepared to engage Russian forces that would protect Central Asia, with Iran being the gateway. Same is true for China.
There are doubtless proponents of the war — sooner rather then later.
Is it too early or too late, now is the question.
Four more years of Trump will be a God-send to Israel because he can easily be manipulated into attacking Iran, regardless of his – alleged and probably non-existent – desire to avoid a new Mid-East war. As Ayalet Shaked said, “There is no better time” (referring to Israel’s desire to resolve the Palestinian issue in their favor – as Trump’s “Deal of the Century” does.)
Of course, after ten or twenty years of war, Iran will remain standing, with a devastated civilian infrastructure, of course, but still standing. And unless the US helps Israel take out Hezbollah in Lebanon, Israel will have a devastated economy, as well. And probably Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, and any and everyone else in the region will, too.
So in the end, only the usual suspects will have won – the military-industrial complex and the banks that finance them. And the oil companies will profit from the price spike. And the neocons will probably still be influencing the US government, since the Iraq war apparently did nothing to prevent them from controlling Trump like they did Bush. And the US taxpayer will be at least a trillion (or two or three) dollars poorer.
Damn glad I don’t pay taxes.
Zionists are always crying about how Hamas uses Palestinians as human shields… they had to use human shields somewhere to maintain their power of projection…
God’s chosen….
These planes should have been targeted by S-400 missiles the moment they flew into Syrian airspace and blown out of the sky.
Netanyahu won’t allow Putin to provide S-400s to Syria (only S-300s) – though they do to Turkey. Putin knows who his master is.
Hezbollah deploying SAMs and associated A2AD systems to South Lebanon and Syria getting more S-300 batteries would go a long way towards combating this criminal behavior. There isn’t much chance of holding the zionists accountable for anything outside of the use of force at this point. Too many of the world’s institutions are corrupted by their money and influence to be of much use otherwise.
The US is the reason Israel can pull any kind of crap.
More S-300s? They aren’t even allowed to use the ones they already have. Russia needs to stop straddling the fence here re Israel & Turkey. Are they Syria’s ally or not?
Right. Russia provides Turkey with S-400s but not Syria. Putin’s master Netanyahu wouldn’t allow that.
Boo-hoo. If Israel shot a Russian passenger -or military- plane out of the sky, Russia would not retaliate. Israel bombs Syria every day. Syria does not retaliate.
Agree. And we have the stalwart Putin to thank for that. As they say, he’s all hat and no horse.
Right. Netanyahu barks and Putin cringes.
Remember the USS Liberty massacre at the hands of Israel,,that great ally of the USA and the Master of Prez. Trump! 🙁
Putin is on the phone with his master, Netanyahu, to find out how he should spin the issue.
This won’t go on. They will eventually be humbled like Habib in a Turkish prison.
How low can they go?
Israel never pays a price for anything it does. It has total impunity. That explains any outrage it chooses — it is a free hit.
These things won’t end until Israel pay a price for what it does.
This also explains the popularity of the extreme right wing in Israeli politics. Why not? They get away with anything.
Obviously Israel hoped to provoke a repeat of the shootdown of the Ukrainian airliner over Iran recently. That would give Trump’s neocons – and I repeat, *Trump’s* neocons – an excuse to attack “Iranians” in Syria as well as Iran.
The question now is: how often will Russia allow this scenario to recur before Putin starts allowing Syria to take down Israeli aircraft over Lebanon, and the Med and elsewhere? Which is what it’s going to take to make Israel back off.
Interesting that the very thing that Israel and the US accuse Arab counties of is hiding behind non-military people and here are the hypocrits doing that very thing.
When are people going to hit back at the US and Israel, they are free to do anything.
I am certainly glad I am in the “Autumn” of my life, although the way things are going in the World, I may never see Winter.
Israel is has no respect human life like Planned Parenthood or the DNC (neither does the Republican Party TBH).
Syria needs to strengthen their air-defense, its too bad Russia won’t help with that and station a couple of missile gun boats off the coast of Lebanon where Israel is launching from.
Cowardly bastards.