TEL AVIV, July 24. /TASS/. Israel knew it was shooting down a Syrian, not Russian, Sukhoi fighter jet that had violated its airspace, Israeli army spokesman Jonathan Conricus told a news briefing for foreign journalists on Tuesday.
"Israel knew it was shooting down a Syrian, not Russian, plane," the spokesman said.
"Israel shot down either a Su-22 or a Su-24 of the Syrian army, I can’t say more exactly so far," Conricus added.
The Israeli army "has no information about the crew of the downed Syrian fighter jet and we do not know about whether the pilots managed to eject," he noted.
The Israeli army believes that the plane "took off from the Syrian T4 airfield," he said.
"It approached the Golan Heights at a relatively high speed, violating the Israeli airspace, after which it was shot down and fell on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights," the spokesman said.
The Israeli army "abides by the strict policy of non-interference in the conflict in Syria," the spokesman said.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Tuesday they had shot down a Syrian Sukhoi fighter jet over Israeli territory with two Patriot missiles.
"Two Patriot missiles were launched at a Syrian Sukhoi fighter jet that infiltrated about 1 mile into Israeli airspace," the statement says.
"The IDF monitored the fighter jet, which was then intercepted by the Patriot missiles," the statement reads.
There are no reports yet about the crew of the downed fighter jet.
According to data of the Sky News Arabia TV Channel, the plane fell on Syrian territory in the basin of the Yarmouk River. The television station has not provided any information on whether the pilots managed to eject before the plane was struck by the missiles.
According to the Israeli army’s press office, "Since this morning, there has been an increase in the internal fighting in Syria and the Syrian Air Force's activity. The IDF is in high alert and will continue to operate against the violation of the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement [between Israel and Syria - TASS]."
This is the second time Israel used its air defense forces on the border with Syria this week. On Monday, Syria launched two Soviet-made Tochka (NATO reporting name: SS-21) missiles during internal fighting, presumably, against an enclave in the country’s south held by terrorists connected to the Islamic State (terrorist organization, outlawed in Russia).
In order to intercept them, the Israeli army launched two missiles from its new David’s Sling anti-ballistic missile system designed for intercepting small-to-medium-range missiles. However, according to the newspaper, Haaretz, the interceptor missiles failed to strike their targets.
The Golan Heights had been part of Syria since 1944, but the territory was seized by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War. In 1981, the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, passed a law on the Golan Heights, which unilaterally proclaimed Israel’s sovereignty over that territory. The annexation was deemed illegal under UN Security Council Resolution 497 of December 17, 1981.