a flight over israel

Hezbollah drone over Israel leaves air force red-faced

JERUSALEM, Nov 8: A flight over Israel of an unmanned Hezbollah spy plane on Sunday deeply embarrassed the Jewish state's air force, which has prided itself for decades on having total control of the region's skies.

"Breach in aerial security. Air force embarrassed. Hezbollah sees all," read a front-page headline in Israel's Yediot Aharonot daily.

"And what if next time the drone carries a bomb?" asked the daily Maariv.

The Lebanese group announced it had sent the drone over "northern Palestine" (Israel) in retaliation for repeated violations of Lebanese airspace by Israel, deemed "Zionist attacks on Lebanese sovereignty".

Hezbollah also warned that it could carry out more such flights.

After several hours of complete silence from the Israeli military about the incident, the army finally confirmed the overflight of its territory.

"This morning, an Iranian UAV (unmanned air vehicle) operated by the Hezbollah terror organization infiltrated into Israel over the western Galilee," a military spokesman said.

The army said the spy plane, launched from southern Lebanon, flew along Israel's Mediterranean coast as far as the resort of Nahariyah before returning north to Lebanon.

Hezbollah said the flight lasted 20 minutes, a claim corroborated by the UN peacekeeping force in the region, UNIFIL.

"We must know immediately how it's possible for such a rudimentary device to pass through the Israeli army's heavy air defences, in which billions have been invested," said opposition Labour MP Eitan Cabel.

Cabel asked the leader of parliament's foreign affairs and defence committee to convene an emergency meeting to discuss the spy plane incident.

On Monday, Lebanese ministers argued that the overflight was a result of the Jewish state constantly violating Lebanese airspace and ignoring international protests.

"The resistance (Hezbollah's armed branch) turned to this method because international protests have not succeeded in putting an end to Israeli violations of Lebanese airspace," Information Minister Elie Ferzli said.

The United Nations said the incursion by the Hezbollah drone had been followed by violations of Lebanese airspace by five Israeli warplanes and condemned both.

UN representative Staffan de Mistura insisted "there should be no air violations from any side" of the UN-demarcated "blue line" established after Israel's May 2000 withdrawal from south Lebanon.

He met Lebanese Foreign Minister Mahmoud Hammoud, who said he was "surprised that Israel should express such concern when its planes violate Lebanese airspace all the time".

Lebanese newspapers said Hezbollah was trying to re-establish a balance of power in the region by introducing the drone to the equation.

"Each time Israel tries to overtake it, Hezbollah seizes the initiative ... and proves on the ground that it will not accept any violation of this balance," said the mass-circulation daily An-Nahar.

Israel considers the presence at its northern border of Hezbollah militants, backed by Iran and Syria, as a strategic threat, especially as they possess long-range missiles that can reach the northern port of Haifa.

On November 25, 1987, a Palestinian militant aboard an ultra light motorized aircraft infiltrated northern Israel from south Lebanon, landing at night on a military base and killing six soldiers before being shot dead.

Ever since, Israeli anti-aircraft defences in the area have been stepped up. The military has an armoured vehicle equipped with systems that can detect small low-flying aircraft, and Stinger surface-to-air missiles to intercept them. -AFP