BEIRUT, LEBANON (1:55 P.M.) – Palestine’s Hamas Movement hailed the Syrian military on Saturday for downing an Israeli F-16 fighter jet over the northern countryside of Galilee.

“We commend the Syrian response to the Israeli aggression,” Ismail Radwan said in an exclusive interview with Arabic-language Quds Press International News Agency.

“We affirm that Palestine stands by Syria in the face of this hostile move,” Radwan continued. .

He also condemned the Israeli attacks on Syria, stressing that Damascus had the right to defend themselves against the Israeli attacks.

Radwan then called on the Hamas leadership, Arab nations and all Palestinians to join forces and confront “the imminent danger posed by the Zionist regime.”

Meanwhile, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, announced in a statement that they have raised defense readiness to the maximum level to ward off any possible Israeli attack.