The Syrian government said on Tuesday that Israel would face "more surprises" in future attacks on Syria's territory, days after a Syrian air defense missile shot down an Israeli F-16 jet.
Syrian anti-aircraft fire downed the F-16 as it returned from a bombing raid on Iran-backed positions in Syria early on Saturday. Both Iran and Russia back Syrian President Bashar Assad in the country's near seven-year civil war.
"Have full confidence," Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Ayman Soussan said Tuesday. "The aggressor will be greatly surprised because it thought this war – this war of attrition Syria has endured for years – had made it incapable of confronting attacks."
"God willing they will see more surprises whenever they try to attack Syria," Soussan said in a press conference in Damascus.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israeli forces would press ahead with Syria operations despite their loss of the advanced warplane, the first it has lost to enemy fire in 36 years.
Meanwhile, on a tour of the northern border Tuesday, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman told reporters: "There are no limitations (on military operations), nor will we accept any limitations. … We will respond to every provocation."
"We will continue to defend our vital security and other interests. And I would like to paraphrase the well-known saying: 'This is not the time to bark, this is the time to bite.'"
Iran's involvement in Syria, including the deployment of Iran-backed forces across the border from Israel's Golan Heights, has alarmed the Israeli leadership, which has pledged to counter any threat and has mounted regular attacks inside Syria.
Israel has also accused Iran of planning to build precision-guided missile factories in Lebanon, which is home to the powerful Hezbollah faction, one of the groups fighting in support of Assad in Syria.
