Vulture (illustration)
Vulture (illustration)iStock

In a highly sensitive secret operation, Israel on Thursday night managed to get a vulture returned to it by Lebanese villagers - after they took it captive for being an "Israeli spy vulture."

Israel Nature and Parks Authority on Tuesday confirmed reports that the Israeli vulture had been captured in the south Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil, four kilometers from the border. There, locals made the wild yet sadly not uncommon accusation that it was all a conspiracy and the bird was carrying Israeli espionage hardware on it.

Fortunately the vulture was returned on Thursday night, Channel 2 reports Friday, following a discreet operation by the parks authority aided by the UN forces on the border.

The Israel Nature and Parks Authority was able to make contact with the residents of the Lebanese town through the UN, and succeeded in convincing them to return the bird on Thursday night at the border at Rosh Hanikra on the coast.

Despite its stint in Lebanon as an "Israeli spy," the rare bird was fortunately in good medical condition.

The vulture had been released in the Gamla Nature Reserve around a month ago. It was brought to Israel from Catalonia last July, so as to increase the dwindling population of vultures that face extinction in the Middle East and Israel in particular.

After being returned, the bird was brought to the parks authority's hospital for wild animals, which said the bird "is weak with light wounds. (The vulture) is receiving supportive treatment and we hope it will return to nature."

Ludicrous as they may be, such claims of Israeli "spy" animals are so numerous among the Jewish state's Arab neighbors that presenting a full list of such incidents from recent years is truly challenging.

Dolphinssharksducksvultureseagles, and even rare European Bee-Eaters have all been "exposed" at some point as dastardly Zionist agents.