screen to prolong his route. north korea's in a big delegation has met the south korean prime minister that lee nucky on in the capital seoul the group includes the sister of north korea's leader kim jong un and on saturday she extended a rare invitation to the south korean president moon jay and to visit pyongyang and votes are being counted in sri lanka where a record number of women are vying for seats in three hundred forty local governments a new law requires females to fill a quarter of the positions the president or the prime minister room nationally in the coalition but they've campaigned separately for their own parties. and thousands of people are running against racism in the italian city of misurata that's a week after six african immigrants were injured in a drive by shooting until racism rallies were also held in rome milan and palermo a far right sympathizer suspected of carrying out last week's attack it's intensified the debate of its views migration policy less than a month before national elections well those were the headlines the news continues

here on al-jazeera after inside story station thanks so much about an. hour jews iraq. and for your. flash point between israel syria and iran suspected iranian drone is shot down then and is ready will plane crashes it's a major us collation of the conflict in syria so what's next in an already volatile region this is inside story.

hello i have other welcome to the program the spillover from the civil war in syria to neighboring countries is not new but an israeli warplane being shot down by syrian air defenses is a first the f. sixteen fighter jet crashed after what these rarely army says was massive and to aircraft fire syria said it was responding to israeli aggression the downing of the f. sixteen follow the shooting down of what israel said was an iranian drone and the violation of its sovereignty by flying in the occupied golan heights or so on saturday syrian air defenses are reported to repel and two israeli raids or military bases so where will this escalation lead we'll talk to our guests in a moment israel has repeatedly attacked targets in syria over the years some confirmed by damascus others in night they include a weapons supply heart attack last year near damascus airport syrian rebels say the

target was weapons sent from iran for the lebanese group hezbollah also last year the syrian army said israel did rockets were fired at a military base near damascus the syrian government denied an attack eleven years ago on a nuclear reactor under construction the first israeli strike on syria says the one nine hundred seventy three middle east war was fifteen years ago the target was a suspect his training camp for policy of fighters the syrian government requested a special meeting of the united nations security council took and down the attacks . let's now bring in our guests joining us from to have on mohammad marandi professor of north american studies at the university of the han from tel aviv is nary a junk fellow at the washington institute for near east policy and from a man is memo retired jordanian force general welcome to your own like to start off by asking. this the downing of the f.

sixteen jet is it an isolated incident or do you see it as a new phase in the syrian conflict we're going to be with you we don't quite know if it's going to be an isolated incident it is though the first time i would see in about thirty years that an israeli fighter jet has been taken down due to hostile fire so that in of itself is significant whether the syrian regime and its military has the continued capability to do this so it's an open question but it is very concerning issue in president that took place this morning mr monday so the quality of the israeli accounts these rallies have intercepted an iranian drone then they launched air strikes targeting iranian targets in syria and then the anti cost batteries of the syrian government targets of the sixteen fighter jets. are we

likely to see a new phase of a confrontation between the israelis and the iranians well the israelis don't have a history of honesty the drone the syrians and the iranians say that it has nothing to do with. any airspace outside of syrian airspace the drones were there basically and all the drones are there to monitor what isis and al qaeda are doing we know that i protected by israel they treat their injured they gave them funding and they attack syrian government positions regularly the israeli regime in support of al qaeda and whenever the al qaeda forces are losing and also on the other in another part of the border near jordan isis exists alongside the israeli border and as the. former

minister of defense once said they once mistaken they lobbed a mortar into israel and they immediately apologized so the relationship between israel isis and al qaeda i think is pretty clear they want to protect these groups because they want to keep a buffer zone between themselves and syria whether this escalates is really up to the israeli regime this round they've definitely lost. i don't know why you served general in the jordanian. force you know the north pole so this whole industry and the business and the procedures involved i mean by the time the syrians pushed the button and decided to bring down the fighter jet what kind of message where they sending to the israeli government right i think the drones first of all. i disagree with the u.s. just the drone is being shut down over the israel or nearby the golan heights. i think the russian know about it doing and know about it all radar in syria are

connected to me me me me me base tel aviv israel you have a direct top line with this command of russian command so seems to be that everybody knows about the movement to the strong which means shut down on the goal line as i said now the i think the red line of it in yahoo being checked now. i think the communication or the talks between him and putin. valeo below or have no value putin is looking for his national interest so that's what has concerned him. i think also checked on israel if they want to make sort of a buffer zone near by goal and i doubt they can do that.

so the iranian influence the land bridge is there. iranian officers are nearby the goal line within seven kilometers of the israeli so the israeli can do nothing at this stage let's see what's going to happen at the end of the day sky collation is there but i don't think they will escalate and if it. so you're not israeli diplomacy's working out through that magic and all the russian also up to now we didn't see any i mean you know look concerned that i see a point. when mrs. bradley policy so far in syria has been the following there would only interfere with a solo or with a get intelligence that the iranians are trying to send some game changing what systems to hizbollah. we're seeing a new pattern which is basically going after what the israelis consider to be

a growing iranian military presence in syria is this an indication of that in the near future what we're going to see is basically a new showdown between the iranians and the israelis well that's correct israel has made its red lines in syria clear for a number of years now initially was game changing weaponry sent by to hiran to its allies in lebanon hizbollah via syria as well as iran in lebanon trying to and has been trying to set up a terrorist base on the golan heights border now israel is seeing something a bit more severe which is iran actually trying to turn syria into a forward operating base for itself for its military forces in syria as well as installing in syria more precision guided missiles that obviously pose a threat to israel so these red lines have been made very clear by netanyahu and

his government for a few months now they act on those the red lines which again they've made very clear and the the onus i would say is on iran and the assad regime and its other allies to behave with responsibility and caution given the very real threat of escalation due to their. behavior. of the israelis said senior diplomats to washington and moscow over the past few months to express concern about whether because it's to be a growing influence of iran in syria this is basically what they say they say that they have seen a pattern which is the iranian is trying to expand their arc of influence all the way from iran to link up with hezbollah in lebanon through the golan heights i mean what is the what is the iranian narrative when it comes to this particular accusation levelled against them by the israelis well the israeli narrative is very similar to its sister apartheid regime in south africa back in the days when we had

apartheid there. apartheid south africa liked israeli regime abuse the natives and would regularly attack its neighbors just like this really regime on the other hand and see that african national congress and the late now also mandela they were terrorist organizations they were communists according to apartheid south africa and western countries basically remake that position and we know that now president nelson mandela was still a terrorist according to u.s. law when he was the president i'm south africa and he couldn't enter the united states because he was a terrorist and so as they and see israeli regime does the same thing they use iran like the apartheid south africa and western governments and the western media back then to create fear so that they would turn attention away from the reality and that is the subjugation of the people of black africans in south africa and the subjugation of people in neighboring countries that's exactly what israel is doing as well the iranians are in syria with the permission of the syrian government. are

there to help defeat isis and al-qaeda which they are doing we know for example that the head of in israeli defense intelligence said that we prefer isis over the syrian government and he also. he was deeply concerned that the syrian government would survive so when you see. that sort of. that sort of language and on the other hand when you see the language of the former head of mossad who admitted on al-jazeera that israeli regime treats the wounded of al qaeda remember this is al qaeda the group that carried out nine eleven and he said we do this because they do not attack us the do not target us so it's obvious who is siding with the extremists and who isn't and they're in again the syrians and the iranians say that the drones are out there to defend here against the extremists and let imagine that

if let's let's say that somehow this drone went over it is by the way an occupied syrian territory and straight into israel the israelis have been firing over lebanon bombing syria not just hezbollah or anyone else they've mostly been bombing ok syrian army targets in defense of the extremists on their border with syria and the so there is no comparison with this is not the first time that the israeli government lost strikes against targets inside syria with they've done that in the us although they've never admit responsibility for that but why this time the syrian government decided to retaliate. well and actual fact the syrian government to retaliate if you remember nine months ago when the fire service to. see it was to service my side to which the israeli raid nearby

shared out that maria. it is a message for the israeli that you can't do anything about the rain and for once it is there the land bridge is there and it's a fact let's face it. is very cannot conduct i think a two front operation at this moment the nature of war is to change hezbollah these fronts got like one hundred fifty thousand besides these reilley. defense system don't go mad he says the arrow means sorry i don't think they can handle this massive fiery that would be a saturation of the air defense of the israeli and that's will affect their infrastructure have value targets cetera and we might see a regional war sort of thing and i don't think both sides want to do that so i think we might see some diplomatic of which going going to contain this was some limited surgical fly strike on these really so k.

so really the sit to all the parties all trying to stay away from any us collation or confrontation the need. we have now for key players as far as the conflict in syria is concerned iran. russia so three key players iran russia and israel do you think that russia could step in and try to broker a deal well i think that that's what the netanyahu government is hoping that russia steps in and restrains its syrian and iranian allies i would just say as far as context goes that after the last real direct israel syria war in one thousand nine hundred three for about forty years the syrian israeli border was israel's quietest border and only in recent years with the onset of the syrian civil war and hezbollah and iran involvement in that war a real bloody involvement targeting innocent men women and men women and children

in many cases bombing hospitals and bakeries and so on israel actually stepped in to take care of its own strategic interests and that those interests should be taken into account in any future actions. what is it that mr bundy. russia has intervened in two thousand and fourteen tilt to the ground in favor of president bashar assad has implemented the four hundred missile defense system which gives it a huge leverage over the conflict in syria are they likely to be best positioned this time to try to prevent any further descent into violence well i think as your guest in jordan rightly pointed out the nature of war has changed israelis have carried out numerous onslaught against the people of gaza and they massacred thousands of people during these attacks but they failed to take the city a city that surrounded that often on the verge of starvation but israel has failed

and lebanon has was defeated as well and now we see that there's really a force is more vulnerable than we thing. and i believe. probably better air defense weapons exist but are currently kept under lock and key so i think israeli regime has to be careful about how it tries to implement its interests the united states and israel both supported the extremists in syria from almost day one and there are just as i mean the united states is guilty then more guilty than anyone else because of what happened in syria we know from the two thousand and twelve defense and intelligence agency document where the united states knew that the extremists were the major fighting force in syria from early on in the fighting and they knew that neighboring countries were supporting these groups and as general flynn michael frayn on al-jazeera admitted the united states took a willful this edition to support these extremists and they wrongly saw that europe

paid the price there is read the regime is also for its so-called national interest it's supporting isis at least indirectly and al-qaeda directly and this is something that i think the international community should take note of countries like china and russia should take note that israel is a country that alongside the united states who will use extremist sense as tools and that could be dangerous for central asia in the future so i think that ultimately israel is paying a price at the international level and also it's being seen as the aggressor in syria because it downs a drone allegedly flying over syria by bombing syria and it's bomb syria repeatedly and by using iran as a scapegoat is just like with apartheid south africa did with regards to the a.n.c. they blame the russians the soviet union the communists in order to subjugate africans in the west supported ok you know if we look if you try to look at the next step forward mr. this is the political reality in syria

a weakened president bashar assad but with the backing from iran and syria russia is bad as you know to reverse some of the gains made by the made by the rebels the americans in for was in the region is waning so we're left with two key players inside syria iran and russia. is this going to have any kind of impact in the near future about president bashar al assad are we going to see him likely sergei more ground or no i think iran is going to stay in syria. and for once was been established with and mean in lebanon syria up to the sea the actual fact now brush i need you ron. on especially on tactical level there have differences on the strategic. but the going to be as an axis in the future. i think both russia and iran support us to remain.

stand i was try to i stand eyes sushi and they're going to send eyes also geneve in the future but i could see that. a solution may maybe come up like federal of syria north kurds that's what so why the american also we can the is the if that's will not work out for the american. and the center part of the new syria but i think i said will lose power or he should not control these federal state in the future that's the way i see as a solution but i said we'll stay there for a while till we got might be because there is no political framework really now where it's going to have the right solution. i mean the syrian government has

managed to take over an area which is about thirty kilometer from mount hermon and over the past few months the whole narrative was about what is going to happen in places like egypt but what we're seeing now is talks about potential confrontations with the fight goes back to areas like that and is this something which has been closely monitored by the israeli government. do they consider this to be another bread line if you happens absolutely this is been a red line for quite some time an iranian and has the law presence in southern syria on the border with the golan heights and with israel is a red line for the israeli government and that should be made very clear to everyone not only to the outside regime and to iran but also russia as well as the united states i will just say that yes the nature of war might be changing but israel still has the most powerful military in the area and that if there is really

an escalation which we all hope won't be the case but if there is an escalation then i believe the syrians and the iranian interests inside syria as well as perhaps lebanon if hizbullah deigns to to get involved will suffer a lot more than than israel in the israeli population was somebody. said a few days ago that he would never allow the iranians to maintain a permit is busy presence in iran for quite some time the debate about syria was about the need to find a peaceful way out of this crisis with thousands of people were killed but suddenly this whole narrative is shifting towards something else the potential for an explosive situation where the iranians might find themselves fighting against the israelis how is this seen by the iranian decision makers well my understanding is that in iran the view is basically that this is more about netanyahu and

his wife than anything else this recent event and they basically want to turn attention away from the charges that are being leveled against them and this of course the fact that israel these last highly advance of sixteen i think make this make this actually much worse for letting. the iranians will stay in syria's long as the syrian government wants and they will help the syrians regain their full sovereignty the americans like the israelis don't want this to happen that's why they continue to support extremists and in in the east and in the north even line themselves with p k k ally groups that is outraged turkey so that the policies of the united states we see have isolated both in iraq and in syria and israel these are not going to fare much better and as with regards to the point that the claim made about the power of israel israel is no match for iran

israel its power is basically linked to the united states iran is not going to initiate any conflict with israel regime iran believes that israel must cease to exist because it is an apartheid state like its sister apartheid regime in. south africa by the way the israelis gave the apartheid regime in south africa me clear weapons too but but the israelis should recognize that if they initiate any conflict against iran or against friends of iran this release will definitely not ok let me go to mr a but i want to set up what i won't what if the israelis decided to retaliate then the iranians decided to fly about what kind of you know you do you see for the future of syria the region. i could see that accounted for the this escalation going to be and i don't know i can't speculate in days possibly but we will see continuance of israeli strike. face saving for their it

guard of and knitting the hour of that is raid knows very well and it's their general that's the nature of war has been changing. there is two front with one hundred fifty thousand missiles and a fact of course israel is a nuclear power but it's not going to be a school eating that much that they're going to use small tactical nuclear cleared out so what are we going to see is that i think containing the this escalation couple of days or less than that i can speculate and prevented it from spinning out of control so there is very important point that israel or american all the russian cannot stop the iranian maneuvering in our thank you the world thank you do it very skillfully miss a moment i want to know is some of that on the thank you very much indeed for your contribution to the program and thank you too for watching you can see the program

again any time by visiting our website al-jazeera dot com for further discussion go to our facebook page that's facebook dot com forward slash a.j. inside story you can also join the conversation on twitter our hand it is a jane side story for me as a model of the whole team here by phone now. from satellite technology to three d. printing and recycled waste to solar powered classrooms africa is transforming young innovators aap propelling change building communities creating employment and solving problems they're challenging systems and shaping new ones it's about creative thinkers shaping their continent's future innovate africa at this time on al-jazeera. and monday put it on. u.s.

and british companies have announced the biggest discovery of natural gas in west africa but what to do with these untapped natural resources is already a source of heated debate nothing much has changed they still spend most of their days looking forward to for dry riverbeds like this one five years on the syrians still feel battered or even those who managed to escape their country have been truly unable to escape the war. well if we cannot have palestina my government was suddenly not allowed britain to control french palestine would be an outrage but then we need to find another solution before we come to blows more than a century ago britain and france made a secret deal that would influence the shape of the middle east for more than a century to come and so. now we can draw raima. psych speak out lines in the sand at this time on al-jazeera.

it was oil upon which modern day venezuela was a stoppage. for over a century this lucrative resorts has divided the people both less than cursed with the world's largest reserves. charting the impact of industrialization and the legacies of its prominent leaders we shed light on the troubles afflicting venezuela today the big picture the battle for venezuela at this time on. israel launches its biggest attacks on syria in decades up to one of its fighter jets was shot down. below and darren jordan this is an jazeera live from doha also coming up coffee table diplomacy.