Israel says hotline with Russia prevented downing of Russian warplane over Golan Heights
Former Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon said during an interview with RIA Novosti that a hotline between the Israeli military and their Russian counterparts in Syria, which has been in effect for nearly three years, helped to prevent a serious incident in the first months of its operation, when a Russian Air Force plane almost entered the airspace of the Jewish state.
"It [the hotline] saves lives because it helps to avoid misunderstandings. In the very beginning of Russian presence, there was a case when one Russian pilot almost crossed our border in the Golan Heights. If it had been a Syrian plane, we would have shot it down. But we realized that it was a Russian plane, and [we] activated the hotline for communication with Khmeimim [the Russian airbase in Syria] to say: "Your plane is about to enter our airspace. Be careful!" recalls Ya'alon.
"The issue was resolved immediately. if it had been a Syrian aircraft in its stead, we would most likely would have shot it down," he added.
Approximately a year prior, Israel destroyed a Syrian Su-24 bomber over an Israeli-controlled portion of the Golan Heights under similar circumstances.
A direct channel of communication between Russia’s Khmeimim base and the Israel’s HaKiriya command center in Tel Aviv was established almost simultaneously with the appearance of a Russian air force presence in Syria. Both sides highly praise the effectiveness of the "conflict-avoidance mechanism", as the Israelis call it, and express an interest in continuing its work.
Israel, for its part, is interested in preserving freedom of action in Syria. In foreign media, reports on Israeli air force involvement in the bombing of warehouses and convoys in the neighboring state have appeared more than once, even after the deployment of Russian aviation and air defense systems there.
Jerusalem, as a rule, does not comment on such matters. However, they often declare Israel’s readiness to use force if required to prevent Iran's military presence on the northern borders of the Jewish state.