A relatively large and unexpected meteor streaked across the sky over central Israel Tuesday evening, sparking widespread fears that the nation was under attack by Iran, Syria, or perhaps aliens.

The large bright ball and flaming tail were visible around 8 PM and were seen by thousands of Israelis from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv. As soon as the meteor had disappeared, burned up in earth's atmosphere, calls to the police began pouring in.

Panic-striken Israelis were certain that one of Israel's many regional enemies was finally making good on threats to destroy the Jewish state. Just as many callers believed the celestial sighting was a UFO.

Officials said the atmosphere of near hysteria was only made worse by the fact that astronomers had failed to predict this particular meteor would hit earth. One astronomer said he and his colleagues rarely miss predicting such a large meteor colliding with earth's atmosphere.