Indications of increased Russian involvement in Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad are prompting a reassessment in Israel about how to handle fall-out from the conflict without risking a clash with Moscow.
US and regional reports suggested that Moscow’s diplomatic and logistical support for Assad is shifting into major military backing has raised the prospect of Israel and Russia accidentally coming to blows.
“There could be ramifications for us, certainly,” Ram Ben-Barak, director-general of Israel’s Intelligence Ministry, said when asked if Russian intervention in Syria might necessitate new Israeli rules of engagement.
Amos Gilad, senior adviser to Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon, said it was too early to know how extensive Moscow’s military involvement in Syria would be and whether it might clip Israel’s wings operationally.
“I don’t know, because the scale is not yet clear. They haven’t started working. They are just building up the capability,” Gilad said of the Russian activity.
Asked if Israel was communicating with Russia in a bid to head off any unintended confrontations between their forces, he said only: “There are ways. They are not our enemies today.”
In Moscow, the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said she had no information about any communication between Israel and Russia.
Israel has sought to stay out of the Syrian civil war, seeing enemies on all sides.