«Israel» Says It Downed UAV over Syria Border

Local Editor

The "Israeli" Occupation Forces [IOF] said on Tuesday that it had shot down an "Iranian-made" drone alleging it was operated by Hezbollah after it had entered the demilitarized zone along the border between the "Israeli"-occupied Palestinian territories and Syria on the Golan Heights.

The "Israel" Air Force's [IAF] aerial defense command fired a Patriot missile and destroyed the drone.

The interception of the drone took place just hours before "Israeli" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was scheduled to speak to the United Nations General Assembly in New York. A large part of his speech is expected to be devoted to "Israeli" claims concerning Iranian military involvement in Syria.

According to "Israeli" source, the remotely piloted vehicle, intended for intelligence gathering missions, was identified as it took off from Damascus International Airport. It then flew to the southwest toward the "Israeli" entity. When the IAF's air defense control center identified the drone entering the demilitarized zone on the Golan, the IOF decided to shoot it down. Fighter jets were scrambled to the area, but did not fire at the drone.

The drone was intercepted by a Patriot missile fired by an anti-aircraft battery located in al-Jalil [Galilee]. The drone fell inside Syrian territory in a region controlled by the Syrian government near the city of Quneitra.

The "Israeli" military said that this was not the first time Hezbollah used intelligence-gathering drones against the entity, but added that this time the drone was unusually close to the "Israeli"-occupied Palestinian border.

IOF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Ronen Manelis told reporters that the military will not allow "terrorist" groups to penetrate or come near to "Israeli" territory, in the air or on the ground.

The IOF will act severely and attack against any such actions, said Manelis, adding: "We will respond to every such attempt." Manelis refused to say whether the drone mission was related to the recent attack in Syria, saying that the IOF "does not comment of foreign reports."

Manelis also added that Hezbollah had sent drones on intelligence gathering missions in the past in southern Syria, but coming this close to "Israeli"-occupied territory was exceptional and so it was decided to shoot down the drone. Entering the demilitarized zone on the Golan is a violation of the "Israel"-Syria Separation of Forces Agreement from 1974. The entity had no prior intelligence information on Hezbollah intentions to approach the border, he added.

"We managed to take down that drone," commented War Minister Avigdor Lieberman.

Lieberman also said, "Anyone who tries to harm our sovereignty, to harm our security, should know that they'll pay a heavy price for it - very heavy."

Source: Haaretz, Edited by website team