What's Behind Israel's Diplomatic Flare-Up With Russia ? Will Trump Throw Israel Under the Bus?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

I haven't read the article yet. I just saw the headlines . What will the execrable Deolorables who profess love for Israel on their facebook or twitter pages do? I knew this wouldn't end up well for Israel, Faustian bargains don't end well. President Obama was a good friend to Israel. As a supporter of Israel he didn't expect any more of them than to comport themselves as the United States does. Well, the way we comport ourselves in our idealized version.

The article:

In the fall of 2015, Russia and Israel held their first talks on “deconfliction,” a disconcerting, vague military arrangement, the aim of which was “preventing misunderstandings” in the Syrian civil war. Russia had just formally entered the conflict, and Israel had already been informally participating through occasional strikes on Hezbollah targets in Syria and some cross-border exchanges of fire. The purpose of deconfliction, it seemed, amounted to a diplomatic version of Ma$e rules: Stay out of my way.

But late last week, something changed. As Israeli jets returned from Syria after bombing a weapons convoy reportedly bound for their foe Hezbollah—allied with Syrian dictator Bashar Assad and Iran—Syrian forces fired missiles at them, sparking the most serious incident between the two countries in the six-year war. In a first, the Syrian anti-aircraft missiles triggered Israel’s missile defense system, which intercepted one of the rockets, causing debris to fall over neighboring Jordan. Last Friday, following the incident, an Israeli army official confirmed the Israeli strike on the convoy publicly for the first time.

...


Despite Netanyahu’s exhortations, there’s no guarantee that Russia will maintain its tacit agreement with Israel over its activities in Syria, especially as Assad’s prospects only continue to brighten. Should Russia change its mind and tell Israel to cease its activities in Syria, the cost of future Israeli strikes will go up, leaving Bibi with fewer options. He could turn to the U.S. for sympathy—something he may not find within the new administration.

In the meantime, tensions between Israel and Syria continue to escalate. On Sunday, an Israeli drone strike reportedly killed a high-ranking air defense official in the pro-Assad forces. On Monday, Israel confirmed that one of its drones had been shot down in Syria. And, on Wednesday, Syrian opposition outlets reported that Israeli jets had carried out new strikes near Damascus, the fourth such attack in less than a week. Israeli officials declined to comment.

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/03/israel-russia-syria/520410/