Russian Jet Violated Israeli Airspace

A Russian jet had breached Israeli airspace.

Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon confirmed on Sunday that a Russian jet had breached Israeli airspace recently, and that the matter was “immediately fixed through communication channels” that exist between the two countries.

Censor.NET reports citing ТАSS.

Ya'alon was asked about claims by a senior defense official that Russian jets had penetrated Israeli airspace, and whether the IDF had a policy for responding to such overflights in light of the recent downing of a Russian jet by Turkish warplanes last week.

"I remind you that about a year ago we shot down a Syrian SU-24 that penetrated into our territory, and we also shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle. When we understood that the Russians were planning to act inside Syria, we immediately met with Putin and created an open channel for coordination so as to prevent misunderstandings, because Russian planes are not trying to attack us and, therefore, it is not necessary to automatically - even if there is a mistake - to shoot them down," Ya'alon said.

Ya'alon said that there had been one breach in which a Russian plane had entered about one mile into Israeli territory, after which the Russians were "immediately contacted" and the plane "immediately returned to Syrian territory."