“Israel also holds Iran and the Hezbollah terror organization accountable for this unfortunate incident,” it added.
Earlier Tuesday, Russian officials said responsibility for the downed plane -- and the death of its 15-member crew -- lay solely with Israel.
But according to the Israeli army, Israeli fighter jets had targeted a Syrian military facility used to manufacture weapons for use by Lebanon’s Hezbollah group, an ally of the Assad regime.
According to the army statement, weapons produced at the facility posed an “intolerable threat” to Israel’s security.
“The Israeli and Russian army have a de-conflict system… which has proven itself many times in recent years,” the statement read.
“This system was in use last night as well,” it added.
The army went on to say that initial investigations into the incident had shown that inaccurate Syrian anti-aircraft fire had led to the downing of the Russian plane.
“When the Syrian army launched the missiles that hit the Russian plane, Israeli Air Force jets were already back in Israeli airspace,” the statement asserted.
“Syrian anti-aircraft batteries fired indiscriminately and, from what we understand, did not bother to ensure that no Russian planes were in the air,” it added.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Syrian air defenses had been trying to repel an attack by an Israeli F-16 when the Russian plane was shot down.