On Dec. 26, the Israel Air Force (IAF) held a graduation ceremony for its 177th pilot-training course at the Hatzerim Air Base in the Negev Desert. The cadets received their wings and became full-fledged pilots. The timing of the event, scheduled months in advance, proved to be particularly sensitive. Just a few hours earlier, according to foreign media reports, the air force had struck targets in the Damascus area. The reported strike followed a lengthy hiatus in similar attacks stemming from tensions between Israel and Russia over the Sept. 17 accidental downing of a Russian Ilyushin military aircraft off the Syrian coast by Syrian forces.
As is customary at such graduation ceremonies, Prime Minister and Defense Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a speech as did the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot, and the highly respected IAF chief, Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin. Each referred obliquely to the events in the skies over Damascus.
