Saturday, April 27, 2013

Report: US asks Israel to hold back on response to drone

  By JPOST.COM STAFF

Lebanese paper quotes Western official as saying that the Americans have called on Israel to show restraint to not divert attention from the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria.

An MQ-1 Predator unmanned aircraft in Iraq.
An MQ-1 Predator unmanned aircraft in Iraq. Photo: Courtesy of US Air Force
A Lebanese newspaper has claimed the US has asked Israel not to respond to the infiltration of its airspace by a Hezbollah drone earlier this week, Israel Radio reported on Saturday.

A Western diplomat told the newspaper An-Nahar that the Americans have called on Israel to exercise restraint, in part because they do not want to divert attention from the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria, according to the report.


"The Israeli military command doesn't treat drones launched from Lebanon lightly, since their goal may be not only taking pictures, but also an assassination of senior officials, military or political," the paper quoted the official.

The craft was downed three days ago over the sea near Haifa. Hezbollah have denied that they are behind the drone.

IDF air defenses picked up the drone in the early afternoon on Thursday, and F-16 fighter aircraft and combat helicopters scrambled to intercept it.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's helicopter, which was carrying Netanyahu during a visit to the Druzim of the Western Galilee, was grounded as a precaution.
Yaakov Lappin contributed to this report.

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