President Reuven Rivlin spoke with the Israeli pilot who was injured when his jet was downed by Syrian surface-to-air missiles on Saturday morning during a mission.
Rivlin thanked the pilot for his service and said that "I embrace you and your friends into my heart and hope to meet you soon."
Rivlin praised Israeli security forces for the fierce actions taken to defend Israel against Iranian military build-up in Syria and stated that the state of Israel will not allow that to happen.