Israel and Russia are acting like two lions on the African savanna. One, the younger one, rules the territory. He is used to walking around freely and doing almost anything he pleases without disturbance. Suddenly another lion appears on the scene, more mature, stronger, far more powerful. The two lions warily eye one another. Neither wants to get involved in a squabble that might inflict harm. The territory is large enough for them both, and their interests are not necessarily incompatible. They decide on a “cold peace” kind of coexistence involving a certain amount of coordination in the joint territory. What we see now is how these two lions circle each other, checking out the other’s alertness and vigilance, sniffing, setting out boundaries, checking each other’s responses, trying to determine the rules of the game.

This is how a Western diplomat stationed in the Middle East and speaking on condition of anonymity described what is going on between Israel and Russia regarding events in Syria. According to foreign reports, on Oct. 30 the Israeli air force attacked Syrian army and Hezbollah targets on Syrian territory. Over the last two weeks, the Russians are regularly striking rebel targets throughout Syria. Some of these strikes take place in the Syrian Golan Heights, not far from the Israeli border. One of the attacks almost reached the border zone; it took place in the Daraa region, about six miles from the border between Israel and Syria. Russia is using these airstrikes to test Israel’s nerves. Israeli policy is clear: Its air force intercepts every plane or aerial object that reaches Israel’s border line, without asking too many questions. What will happen if Russian fighter planes accidentally cross this line? No one in the Israel Defense Forces is willing to answer this question.

To relieve the tension, Israelis like to recall the aerial battles above the Suez Canal during the war of attrition between Israel and Egypt. During one of these fights in July 1970, the Israeli air force downed five MiG-21s flown by Soviet pilots. No one in Israel wants to return to those old days; nevertheless, the situation is not simple. According to foreign reports, Israel's strike against Syrian army and Hezbollah targets was designed to stake out its territory and also to clarify to the Russians that even if they are present now, Israel will continue to defend its interests. About a month ago, after Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed “concern” regarding Israel’s strikes in Syria, Defense Minister Moshe (Bogie) Ya’alon said, “I propose that [no one] tries to test us.'' Ya'alon noted that the Israeli activity is not coordinated with Russia and said, ''We have interests, and when [these interests] are threatened, we take action, and we will continue to do so, and this was also spelled out to the Russian president.''

Since then, a widely publicized meeting was held Oct. 7 between Russian Deputy Chief of Staff Nikolai Bogdanovski and Maj. Gen. Yair Golan, Israel’s deputy chief of staff. At the meeting, it was declared that “coordination” would be established between the two states. What, exactly, will this look like? As far as we know, it's not a telephone hotline open 24/7 or anything like that. Instead it is a form of general coordination, superficial and irregular. When the Russians strike near the Israeli border, Israel receives (according to military sources) a “general idea” about the strike. No list of targets is given, no bombing sites, no exact regions. And when Israel strikes near the border after shooting trickles over from the other side? “We don’t coordinate our assaults,” said a senior military source on condition of anonymity. “We don’t need to get permission to defend our immediate interests. We live here, this is our border and we operate just as we have done until now. Our red lines are clear and we have no intentions of changing them.”