Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot and Military Intelligence Head Maj. Gen. Herzl Hertzi Halevi traveled to Moscow today for meetings with as the Russian military presence in Syria expands. Israel sees the current situation in which Russia is sinking more deeply into Syria's chaos, as an opportunity to restrain Iran, which is involved in the fighting, and thwart terror , which might be directed towards Israel.
Israel has quality intelligence on everything that is taking place in Syria and as time goes by the Russian army might need Israel's assistance in confronting the complexities of the fighting there. Sources at Israel's Defense Ministry explained that Israeli intelligence operatives have made contact with their Russian counterparts and said that there is a new interest. Defense Ministry sources have hinted that if Israel has accurate information about plans to hit Russian army targets or intelligence about people they are seeking, Israel's intelligence community can pass on the information, under certain restrictions.
At the same time, Israel will demand that the Russians do not cross certain red lines: weapons won't be sold to alter the balance of power, no chemical weapons will be sold and there will be no disruption of Israeli operations to thwart terrorism against its citizens and the IDF.
"At the heart of the talks will be Iran, which finances terror and aims it at Israel from Syrian territory," an Israel Defense Ministry source told "Walla." "There is an opportunity to rein them in here using the Russians. This includes Hezbollah."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 21, 2015
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