Netanyahu, Abbas share a handshake in first meeting in five years

The estimate announced earlier this month fuels suspicion that Hezbollah is accumulating weapons to use in a future attack against Israel, even though much of its focus is now on fighting in the neighboring Syrian civil war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas shook hands Monday at a global climate conference in Paris at their first meeting in five years.

Netanyahu, accompanied by several senior military advisers, said at the time that Putin understands Israel’s position vis-à-vis security along the northern border.

Hezbollah and Israel are arch enemies.

“Commenting on Ankara’s downing of the Russian fighter, Netanyahu said, “[For Russia] the events of recent days prove the importance of our coordination, our de-confliction mechanisms, our attempts to cooperate with each other to prevent unnecessary accidents and tragedies, and I believe that we’ve been successful.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly acknowledged that his country’s forces and resources are involved in war-hit Syria, mainly to ward off any strong opposition from Lebanese Shia movement Hezbollah.

The Israeli army has also fired artillery shells into Syria on a number of occasions in response to stray rocket fire from warring factions.

During a ceremony last week approving credentials of 15 new ambassadors, Putin said Russian Federation “will continue to maintain contacts with the Israeli leadership to establish a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in the Middle East [and] to share information on the anti-terrorism track”.

Yaalon recalled that Israel and Russian Federation had made arrangements to avoid clashes over Syria, with the agreement said to include a “hotline” and information sharing.