Israel are claiming that Hezbollah are now able to shoot down Israeli jets flying over parts of the Middle East. According to an IDF source, Russia’s presence in Syria has given Hezbollah the ability to shoot down Israeli planes. Uprooted Palestinians reports: Those same IDF sources estimate that the increased Hezbollah provocations are the result of the tightening relationship between Russia and Hezbollah, as part of the campaign against ISIS in Syria. “The ties between Hezbollah and Syria and Russia have completely changed the rules of the game in the region — despite the [Russian-Israeli] coordination. Hezbollah is signaling to Israel that it’s prepared for the next phase,” the source said. During the 2006 Second Lebanon War, Hezbollah managed to hit only one Israeli aircraft — a Yasur helicopter that was hit by a ground-to-air missile. At the time the gap between the IAF and the operational capacity of Hezbollah prevented the latter from seriously threatening Israeli planes. But after the war Hezbollah launched an intensive process of absorbing advanced Iranian anti-aircraft weapons systems. Over the past few years, the IAF has attacked several weapons convoys on their way from Syria to Lebanon, and also destroyed mobile anti-aircraft systems that [...]