Last update - 00:00 22/09/2007
IAF dispatches jets as Syrian plane disappears from radar
By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent
The Israel Air Force dispatched several fighter jets toward Syria Saturday, after a Syrian airplane disappeared from the Israeli radar screens, army sources said.
The jets returned to base after they ascertained that the Syrian plane had crashed following an accident.
The incident - which occurred amid record-high tension between Jerusalem and Damascus - ended with the Israel Air Force pilots returning to their base within minutes of being dispatched, after it transpired that the plane had crashed on Syrian soil.
Both the Syrian Army and the Israel Defense Forces are reportedly on a heightened state of alert, following reports of an IAF aerial strike on Syrian soil early this month. Upon noticing the sudden disappearance of the Syrian plane, the IDF radar operators informed the chain of command.
The IAF jets were dispatched to thwart any attempt to violate Israeli airspace, for fear the missing Syrian plane had dropped below radar level in order to enter Israeli territory unnoticed.
IDF sources told Haaretz that several units of the Syrian Army have been redeployed in the past weeks, in what could constitute a response to the alleged strike. The reported redeployment does not appear to be directly geared toward war with Israel, IDF intelligence personnel said.
"The Syrian moves can be construed both as serving defensive purposes or as improving deployment for offensive purposes," one intelligence source said.
The prevailing assumption within the defense establishment is that Syria is not interested in directly engaging Israel militarily. Officials believe it more likely that Damascus will opt to use proxy terrorist attacks to retaliate for the alleged incursion on September 6, which Syria has publicly accused Israel of perpetrating.
The heightened state of alert persuaded IDF top brass to consider canceling a training exercise in the Golan Heights for the Givati Infantry Brigade. The exercise was ultimately held as scheduled, but Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi came to observe the troops only on the last day, so as to avoid unnecessary tensions.
IDF presence in the Golan Heights has nonetheless been reinforced in recent months, as tensions began to mount.
The defense establishment is currently attempting to prevent possible attempts by extreme Muslim terrorist groups to target passenger ships transporting Israelis across the Mediterranean.
For the past few months, the defense establishment has received warnings of such intentions on the part of Jihad organizations. Defense analysts say they do not rule out possible Syrian involvement in such future attempts.