Largely unnoticed by much of the media, a pilotless enemy plane invaded Israel’s airspace on Monday, photographing 18 towns and military installations without being noticed. Hizbullah reported that the drone spent 18 minutes in Israeli airspace before returning to Lebanon.
IDF sources in the Northern Command and in the Air Force confirmed the Hizbullah report, but said that the drone succeeded in penetrating Israeli airspace for only a few seconds above the western Galilee. By the time the IAF succeeded in sending up an F-16 jet fighter to shoot it down, the pilotless spy plane had returned safely to its base behind Hizbullah lines, somewhere in southern Lebanon.
An army source quoted by Ynet was unperturbed by the incident, calling it “an attempt by Hizbullah to garner publicity and public relations for the organization.” Aside from that, he said, the incident had no relevance for Israel.
Publicity stunt or not, the Defense Minister was not pleased with the outcome of the drone’s flight. “I would have been glad if it would have been shot down,” said Sha'ul Mofaz.
Hizbullah reported the mission just as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was about to meet with President George W. Bush at his Texas ranch on Monday. In the terrorist organization’s words, the plane flew over “the skies of conquered Palestine in response to continuing and repeated illegal violations of the sovereign air space of Lebanon” by Israeli warplanes.
But Hizbullah terrorists weren’t the only ones who reported the incident. A few Galilee residents apparently noticed the drone even before the IAF was able to react.
One resident called the IDF to tell them he saw a drone fly in from Lebanon. Another resident said he saw the plane fly over Shomerah, an Israeli town just over the border from Lebanon. Still others claimed they saw the plane fly over Nahariya, an Israeli city about four miles south of the border, and from there over to the Ghetto Fighters Kibbutz.
Monday's incident was not the first time that a Hizbullah drone toured over northern Israel. A similar incident occurred last November when the IDF again failed to identify and fire on the pilotless spy plane.
At the time, the IDF said it would take the necessary measures against invading Hizbullah drones. Despite this week's failure, the army brass is sanguine. “Since November 2004," IDF sources said, "lessons were learned, and our goal is to prevent any harm to Israeli citizens. This incident did not constitute any real danger." The sources claimed that the IDF cannot be 100% effective in preventing this type of aircraft from penetrating Israel.
In the meantime, Hizbullah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, encouraged by the success of his drones, is promising to upgrade the planes to carry bombs. After last November’s incident, Nasrallah said that the drones “can carry explosives in quantities of tens of kilograms, and can reach any point in Israeli territory.”
IDF sources in the Northern Command and in the Air Force confirmed the Hizbullah report, but said that the drone succeeded in penetrating Israeli airspace for only a few seconds above the western Galilee. By the time the IAF succeeded in sending up an F-16 jet fighter to shoot it down, the pilotless spy plane had returned safely to its base behind Hizbullah lines, somewhere in southern Lebanon.
An army source quoted by Ynet was unperturbed by the incident, calling it “an attempt by Hizbullah to garner publicity and public relations for the organization.” Aside from that, he said, the incident had no relevance for Israel.
Publicity stunt or not, the Defense Minister was not pleased with the outcome of the drone’s flight. “I would have been glad if it would have been shot down,” said Sha'ul Mofaz.
Hizbullah reported the mission just as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was about to meet with President George W. Bush at his Texas ranch on Monday. In the terrorist organization’s words, the plane flew over “the skies of conquered Palestine in response to continuing and repeated illegal violations of the sovereign air space of Lebanon” by Israeli warplanes.
But Hizbullah terrorists weren’t the only ones who reported the incident. A few Galilee residents apparently noticed the drone even before the IAF was able to react.
One resident called the IDF to tell them he saw a drone fly in from Lebanon. Another resident said he saw the plane fly over Shomerah, an Israeli town just over the border from Lebanon. Still others claimed they saw the plane fly over Nahariya, an Israeli city about four miles south of the border, and from there over to the Ghetto Fighters Kibbutz.
Monday's incident was not the first time that a Hizbullah drone toured over northern Israel. A similar incident occurred last November when the IDF again failed to identify and fire on the pilotless spy plane.
At the time, the IDF said it would take the necessary measures against invading Hizbullah drones. Despite this week's failure, the army brass is sanguine. “Since November 2004," IDF sources said, "lessons were learned, and our goal is to prevent any harm to Israeli citizens. This incident did not constitute any real danger." The sources claimed that the IDF cannot be 100% effective in preventing this type of aircraft from penetrating Israel.
In the meantime, Hizbullah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, encouraged by the success of his drones, is promising to upgrade the planes to carry bombs. After last November’s incident, Nasrallah said that the drones “can carry explosives in quantities of tens of kilograms, and can reach any point in Israeli territory.”