JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he would meet Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss coordination in Syria after the accidental downing of a Russian plane led to tensions.
Netanyahu said he had spoken with Putin and the two agreed “to meet soon in order to continue the important inter-military security coordination.”
Speaking at the start of a cabinet meeting, Netanyahu again pledged to stop “Iran from establishing a military presence in Syria and to thwart the transfer of lethal weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon.”
The meeting would be the first since the Russian plane was downed by Syrian air defenses, which fired in response to an Israeli raid in the country.
Putin and Netanyahu have spoken at least three times by phone since the September 17 incident.
Fifteen Russians were killed in the incident that Moscow blamed on Israel, accusing its pilots of using the larger Russian plane as cover.
Israel disputes the Russian findings and says its jets were back in Israeli airspace when the plane was downed.
Russia announced new security measures to protect its military in Syria, including supplying the Syrian army with S-300 air defense systems and jamming radars of nearby warplanes.
Those measures have led to concern in Israel that it will be forced to limit its strikes against what it calls Iranian and Hezbollah targets in the neighboring country.
It has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria against what it says are Iranian military targets and advanced arms deliveries to Hezbollah.
Russia and Israel set up a hotline in 2015 to avoid accidental clashes in Syria.
Both Iran and Hezbollah, enemies of Israel, are supporting Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime in his country’s civil war alongside Russia.
Netanyahu, Putin to meet after Syria friendly fire incident
Netanyahu, Putin to meet after Syria friendly fire incident
- Netanyahu made the announcement without citing a specific date
UN rights chief slams dangerous ‘tit-for-tat dynamic’ in Mideast war
- Turk deplored the extensive attacks in residential areas, on health facilities, schools, cultural property and water and energy infrastructure
- He stressed that “under the laws of war, civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected at all costs“
GENEVA: The United Nations rights chief voiced alarm Tuesday at the Middle East conflict’s deepening impact on civilians, warning of the dangers of the seeming “tit-for-tat dynamic” between the warring sides.
The United States and Israel began striking Iran on February 28, prompting waves of Iranian strikes across the Gulf.
With hostilities intensifying, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk deplored the extensive attacks in residential areas, on health facilities, schools, cultural property and water and energy infrastructure.
“This apparent tit-for-tat dynamic, involving essential infrastructure with extremely significant civilian impacts, will only increase risks for civilian populations more broadly, with potentially dire consequences across the entire region,” he warned in a statement.
Turk stressed that “under the laws of war, civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected at all costs.”
“All parties are bound by these rules, and must be held to account if they do not,” he said, warning: “the world is watching.”
The UN rights chief warned that “strikes against vital civilian infrastructure in the Middle East — as well as the widening geographic spread of strikes — are further increasing risks for populations across the region, and beyond.”
He pointed to strikes on a water desalination plant and fuel facilities in Iran over the weekend, igniting fires and reportedly disrupting water access for dozens of villages.
It also prompted warnings of “acid rain” that could cause chemical burns and serious lung damage.
“The foreseeable impacts on civilians and the environment of these strikes raise serious questions as to compliance of these attacks with the requirements of international humanitarian law of proportionality and precaution,” Turk said.
“This warrants careful legal scrutiny.”
He also highlighted the broader impact of the war.
The plunge in commercial shipping activity through the Strait of Hormuz was taking a severe toll on access to energy, food and fertilizer across the region and beyond — hitting the world’s most vulnerable people the hardest.
Turk raised concern about reports of detentions, charges and other forms of repression and intimidation against people in a number of countries, in connection with their expression of opinions around the Middle East conflict.
He demanded that all those arbitrarily detained be released immediately and unconditionally.
“States are reminded of their obligation under international human rights law to respect and protect people’s right to freedom of expression — particularly in times of crisis,” he said.
