Press TV- A political commentator says the Syrian military�s downing of an Israeli F-16 warplane sent�a warning message�to the Israeli regime and the US that Damascus will not stand idly in the face of Tel Aviv�s repeated violations of its sovereignty.

Speaking to Press TV on Saturday, Mimi al-Laham said the incident marks a turning point in the developments unfolding in Syria over the past years.

�For the past five years, Israel has been harassing Syrian territory and violating Syrian airspace as well as bombing the Syrian military� to protect the terrorists operating in the Golan Heights, the analyst said.

However, she said, it is the first time the Israeli military has had to admit that one of its jets was shot down.
She said, �This is an escalation that will perhaps prevent future attacks by Israel, and really sends a message not just to Israel but to the United States that Syria is not going to lie down and allow these attacks to continue to happen.�
Syria capable of repelling Israeli assaults

Meanwhile, Press TV�s Damascus correspondent described the downing of the Israeli F-16 as a significant development, which shows the Arab country�s national army is well capable of repelling Tel Aviv�s acts of aggression.

The Syrian army has the capability to successfully to thwart Israeli aerial attacks before hitting their targets, Mohamad Ali said on Saturday.

This is �definitely an important development in the course of what is happening� especially at a time when Syrian soil has been the target of repeated Israeli strikes, the reporter added.