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Israeli cabinet orders army to continue acting against ‘Iran’s entrenchment’ in Syria

The cabinet has also instructed the IDF to continue security coordination with Russia

TEL AVIV, September 25. /TASS/. Netanyahu’s security cabinet ordered the Israeli Defense Forces to continue to act against Iran’s military build-up in Syria without stopping coordination on Syria with the Russian military, the cabinet said in a statement released by the Israeli government press service.

"The cabinet instructs the IDF to continue to act against Iran’s military entrenchment efforts in Syria while continuing security coordination with Russia," the security cabinet said in a statement. The ministers share the pain of the Russian people over the death of the Russian plane’s [Il -20 - TASS] crew as a result of the actions of the Syrian army, the document says.

In order to safeguard the military forces of the two states from sudden clashes on Syrian territory, in the fall of 2015 Israel and Russia established a de-confliction mechanism, with a special coordination center created at Israel’s headquarters.

The Il-20 electronic reconnaissance plane was shot down on the evening of September 17 over the Mediterranean Sea when it was returning to the Hmeymim Airbase. The Russian Defense Ministry reported that it was downed by a missile from Syria’s S-200 air defense missile system when it was carrying out an attack on four Israeli F-16 planes that had attacked facilities in the Latakia Governorate.

Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Igor Konashenkov stated that the Israeli Air Force and those who made the decision to use the Russian plane as cover are to blame for the downing of Il-20 in Syria.