JERUSALEM (Reuters) - An Israeli fighter plane shot down a drone from Lebanon over the Mediterranean sea on Thursday as it was approaching the Israeli coast, the military said. "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. The military said the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was detected in Lebanese skies and intercepted by a F-16 fighter jet some five nautical miles from the Israeli port city of Haifa. The Israeli navy was searching for the wreckage in the sea, a statement said. It was the second time a drone from Lebanon has been intercepted in Israeli air space in the past seven months. Last October, an Israel missile shot down a UAV sent by Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah after it flew some 35 miles into southern Israel.
I'm surprised that Netanyahu could keep a straight face and say, "I view with great gravity this attempt to violate our border." Israel has played fast and loose with international borders, particularly where drones are concerned, for a couple of decades now. Apparently, what is fair for one is not fair for another; or maybe just a case of "might makes right." I can't say that I blame them though. They aren't in a very friendly neighborhood. I saw an article the other day in which an Israeli military spokesman said that within the next forty years or so, they expect that the vast majority of their air combat missions will be carried out by armed drones.
Fair, that four letter word that starts with an "F" is one thing my old man always told me was just a falsehood used by the far left. I agree.
Might makes right. Our Predators and Reapers are doing a fine job in Pakistan and elsewhere......guess the Golan Heights are still in Israeli control, too. It appears Israel's neighbors learned a lesson last time they all ganged up on Israel and lost some territory in a reverse conquest.
