Israel Reportedly Shoots Down Hezbollah Drone
A response to this week’s Israeli-American arms deal?
April 25, 2013
Footage of the Downing of a Drone by IAF Forces in October 2012.(AP Video)
For the second time in a year, Israeli forces have shot down a drone believed to be part of Hezbollah’s arsenal. The unmanned drone was reportedly approaching the Israeli coast near Haifa when it was downed by Israeli F-16s a few hours ago.
“I view with great gravity this attempt to violate our border. We will continue to do what is necessary to defend the security of Israel’s citizens,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.
Last October, a drone made its way well into southern Israel before it was shot down in the desert, an alarming development then, given that it had been several years since any hostile aircraft had penetrated Israeli airspace.
Placing this latest incident in the context of the instability in Syria–which Hezbollah finds useful–and the enmity between Israel and Iran over the latter’s nuclear program as well as the announcement of a huge arms deal between the United States and Israel earlier this week, including vital equipment that could be used to launch a strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, this seems like a pretty big deal.
Earlier: Massive Arms Deal Between Israel and the U.S.
Israel Says It Shoots Down Hezbollah Drone [AP]
Adam Chandler was previously a staff writer at Tablet. His work has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic, Slate, Esquire, New York, and elsewhere. He tweets @allmychandler.
