Netanyahu acknowledges again that Israel acts periodically in Syria
“And after the discussion yesterday” with Putin, PM says, “I say to you that we will continue to do so.”
By HERB KEINONUpdated: DECEMBER 2, 2015 05:20Prime Minister Netanyahu speaking in Acre- Dec. 1, 2015(photo credit: KOBI GIDEON/GPO)
A day after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Paris, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel will continue to protect its interests by acting in Syria to prevent the transfer of game-changing weaponry to Hezbollah.Netanyahu, speaking in Acre at the Galilee Conference, repeated what he said two weeks ago at a Jerusalem Post conference: that Israel acts from time to time in Syria to prevent it from being turned into another terror front against Israel, as he said Iran was trying to do on the Golan Heights.Israel also takes action, he repeated, to prevent “specifically deadly” weaponry from being passed from Syria to Lebanon.“And, after the discussion yesterday” with Putin, he said, “I say to you that we will continue to do so.”Following that 45-minute talk with the Russian leader on the sidelines of the climate change conference in Paris on Monday, Netanyahu told reporters that Russia’s engagement in Syria has not curtailed Israel’s freedom of action there. He also said the coordination between the two countries to prevent any accidental confrontation will continue.Netanyahu told the Galilee Conference this coordination was “very important,” and that it was being done “directly and in good spirits.”Alluding to the recent Turkish downing of a Russian warplane, Netanyahu said: “I think the events of the last few days clarify how important” that coordination is to Israel.