Israeli targets and citizens were targeted in a concerted two-pronged terror offensive this morning in Kenya, in and over the southeast Kenyan seaside resort city of Mombasa. Foreign Minister Binyamin Netanyahu called it a "very dangerous escalation" in the terrorist campaign against Israel, and called upon the international community to recognize the danger and work together to defeat terrorism.
In the first incident in Kenya, unidentified terrorists fired two or three shoulder-launched missiles at Arkia Airlines flight #582 on its way from Mombasa to Israel with over 260 passengers and crew on board. The missiles missed the plane, which had just taken off, and all passengers aboard were unhurt. The plane continued on its route and arrived in Israel shortly after noon. Though they were informed before landing that the booms and streaks of light some of them had heard and seen were missiles aimed at downing their plane, many of them apparently did not realize the full extent of their miracle until they landed and were greeted by dozens of reporters and cameras from around the world. Arutz-7's Josh Hasten reports that an amateur video photographer inside the plane filmed many of the passengers clapping and singing the traditional song "Heveinu Shalom Aleichem" as they landed.
Netanyahu explained the gravity of what he called this "escalation:"
"The Palestinian terror organizations and Hizbullah are making great efforts to acquire anti-aircraft missiles. These can be used not only against IDF planes, but also against El Al aircraft or other civilian craft here... Skyjacking terrorism first began against Israeli targets abroad by Arafat and Fatah in the late 1960's, and it very quickly became an international plague. We face exactly the same situation now. The terrorism of firing missiles against civilian airlines is now beginning against Israeli planes, but it can easily spread to other areas..."
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ron Prosor similarly told CNN,
"If we don't stick together and fight it around the world, we will see the scenes in Mombasa, where there are more Kenyans killed and wounded than Israeli citizens... What happened in Mombasa today is a direct escalation of international terrorism, and we should all join hands in trying to stop it in order to make sure that our citizens and everyone in the world will be able to travel safely, live safely, and go to restaurants and go to work safely without being bombed to death... This is really a wake-up call for all of us around the world. We have to fight terrorism, because if we don't bring terrorism down, it will bring us down."
In the first incident in Kenya, unidentified terrorists fired two or three shoulder-launched missiles at Arkia Airlines flight #582 on its way from Mombasa to Israel with over 260 passengers and crew on board. The missiles missed the plane, which had just taken off, and all passengers aboard were unhurt. The plane continued on its route and arrived in Israel shortly after noon. Though they were informed before landing that the booms and streaks of light some of them had heard and seen were missiles aimed at downing their plane, many of them apparently did not realize the full extent of their miracle until they landed and were greeted by dozens of reporters and cameras from around the world. Arutz-7's Josh Hasten reports that an amateur video photographer inside the plane filmed many of the passengers clapping and singing the traditional song "Heveinu Shalom Aleichem" as they landed.
Netanyahu explained the gravity of what he called this "escalation:"
"The Palestinian terror organizations and Hizbullah are making great efforts to acquire anti-aircraft missiles. These can be used not only against IDF planes, but also against El Al aircraft or other civilian craft here... Skyjacking terrorism first began against Israeli targets abroad by Arafat and Fatah in the late 1960's, and it very quickly became an international plague. We face exactly the same situation now. The terrorism of firing missiles against civilian airlines is now beginning against Israeli planes, but it can easily spread to other areas..."
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ron Prosor similarly told CNN,
"If we don't stick together and fight it around the world, we will see the scenes in Mombasa, where there are more Kenyans killed and wounded than Israeli citizens... What happened in Mombasa today is a direct escalation of international terrorism, and we should all join hands in trying to stop it in order to make sure that our citizens and everyone in the world will be able to travel safely, live safely, and go to restaurants and go to work safely without being bombed to death... This is really a wake-up call for all of us around the world. We have to fight terrorism, because if we don't bring terrorism down, it will bring us down."