Israeli PM defends shooting down of Syrian jet over Golan Heights
- 10 years ago
Israel has shot down a Syrian fighter jet over the Golan Heights, in the first such incident in almost 30 years.
Syria has described the shooting as an act of aggression. It is in an area where there is fierce fighting between al-Qaeda linked militants and forces of the Syrian president.
The Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the actions.
“It’s a tiny country and we don’t have the time or the privileges to wait and check because they could be above Tel Aviv or above Jerusalem in literally less than minutes,” he said. “That’s why we have this procedure. Apparently a Syrian fighter aircraft penetrated our air space. We shot it down.”
Images appearing to show the pilots of the Syrian fighter jet ejecting from the plane have emerged on the internet.
Syria has described the shooting as an act of aggression. It is in an area where there is fierce fighting between al-Qaeda linked militants and forces of the Syrian president.
The Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the actions.
“It’s a tiny country and we don’t have the time or the privileges to wait and check because they could be above Tel Aviv or above Jerusalem in literally less than minutes,” he said. “That’s why we have this procedure. Apparently a Syrian fighter aircraft penetrated our air space. We shot it down.”
Images appearing to show the pilots of the Syrian fighter jet ejecting from the plane have emerged on the internet.