Hizbullah drone over "Israel" leaves air force red-faced
source: summary: JERUSALEM (AL-QUDS) - The flight over "
"Breach in aerial security. Air force embarrassed. Hizbullah sees all," read Monday`s front-page headline in "Israel`s" top-selling daily Yediot Aharonot.
"And what if next time the drone carries a bomb?" asked the daily Maariv.
The Lebanese guerrilla group announced on Sunday 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".
Hizbullah 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 Hizbullah terror (militant) 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.
Hizbullah 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 defenses, in which billions have been invested," said opposition Labor MP Eitan Cabel.
Cabel asked the leader of parliament`s foreign affairs and defense (war) committee to convene an emergency meeting to discuss the spy plane infiltration.
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 (Hizbullah`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 Hizbullah 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 Hizbullah 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, Hizbullah 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 Hizbullah militants, 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 defenses in the area have been stepped up. The military has an armored vehicle equipped with systems that can detect small low-flying aircraft, and Stinger surface-to-air missiles to intercept them.
