Will Israel Take Out The Russian Missiles in Syria?

Here are a few facts to consider. There are several types of weapons that Israel defines as “tie breakers” or as “impeding deterrence.” According to Israel, should these weapons reach its enemies, a red line would be crossed. This is true of the transfer of chemical weapons to Hezbollah or the extremist Sunni rebels in Syria. This is true of the transfer of anti-ship P-800 Onyx missiles (also known as Yakhont missiles) or SA-17 or Fateh-110 anti-aircraft missiles to Hezbollah.

Over the past few weeks Israel has proven that its talk about a “red line” will be translated into deeds, despite the considerable risk that such actions could set the whole region ablaze. In most cases, the “red line” involves the transfer of various types of weapons to Hezbollah or terrorist organizations operating from within Syria. In one case, however, the “red line” involves the transfer of weapons to Syria, including such highly accurate anti-aircraft missiles as the S-300 missiles. Though Russia has promised for several years that it would supply Syria with these  missiles, it hasn’t, at least so far.

Here are a few more facts to consider. Israel’s prime minister flew to Russia on Tuesday, May 14, for a quick but urgent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This meeting came in the wake of reports that Russia was about to complete a missile deal with Syria, which included the de facto transfer of two batteries of S-300 missiles to the Assad regime. Sometime later, it was learned that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Russia was actually initiated by the Russians, and was not the result of Israeli pressure. The invitation was made by Putin explicitly, and not exactly in the friendliest tone either.

This was not the first time that Netanyahu went to Russia to discuss these missiles. He had made that trek before, as had former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert before him. During each of these visits, the Israelis discussed the severity of sending such missiles to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and the options that Israel was weighing in response. In each case, the Russians paid close attention, said that they would reconsider and did not complete the deal … until now.