Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson underlined that the UK Government “support Israel’s right to defend itself against any incursions into its territory”, in a statement today.
The Foreign Secretary said that the United Kingdom “is concerned at developments over Israel’s border with Syria this weekend”.
Mr Johnson emphasised: “We are concerned at the Iranian actions, which detract from efforts to get a genuine peace process underway”.
The statement continued: “We encourage Russia to use its influence to press the regime and its backers to avoid provocative actions and to support de-escalation in pursuit of a broader political settlement”.
Click here to read the Foreign Secretary’s statement in full.
On Saturday, at around 4:25 am Israel time, an Israeli helicopter intercepted an Iranian drone which entered Israeli airspace. According to Israel’s military, the drone was dispatched from the Iranian controlled T-4 base in Palmyra, eastern Syria.
Israeli jets struck 12 Iranian targets in Syria shortly after, during which an Israeli F-16 fighter jet was hit by shrapnel from an anti-aircraft missile. The plan crashed in Israel, and the pilot was seriously injured.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel “will defend itself against any attack and any attempt to harm our sovereignty”.
