TEHRAN – A senior Lebanese political analyst praised the Syrian army’smove to shoot down an Israeli F-16 fighter jet and said Damascus provedthat it possesses needed equipment to defend its national sovereignty.link>

Speaking to the Tasnim News Agency, Ghalib Qandil said the downing of theIsraeli jet by the Syrian army’s air defense forces indicates the power andwill of the country’s government to defend its territories.

The move also sent a clear message from Damascus that “any aggressionagainst Syria is forbidden, and that Damascus has the means and equipmentto defend Syria’s sovereignty”, he noted.

The analyst further dismissed the possibility that Israel would invadeSyria and said it would be very difficult for Tel Aviv to wage an “all-outwar”.

The Israeli military confirmed that the F-16 had gone down in Palestine’snorthern occupied territories, and that the two pilots had been transferredto hospital after ejecting out safely.

Israel said the fighter jet crashed during a mission to strike Iraniandrone installations in Syria. It said it sent its jets into Syria aftershooting down an Iranian drone over Israeli territory earlier on Saturday.

Iran strongly rejected the claim as “ridiculous”, noting that suchallegations do not merit a comment.

The military alliance fighting in support of the Syrian government deniedany of its drones had entered Israeli air space. In a statement, it saidIsrael had targeted an air base in the Homs desert that is being used tofly drones in missions against Daesh (ISIS or ISIL) terrorist group,Reuters reported.

Such “terrorist action” by Israel would be met with a “severe and seriousresponse,” it said.