Russian drone mistakenly entered Israeli airspace

Sputnik
Sun, 07 Aug 2016 17:19 UTC

© Flickr/ Jeffery Scism

Israeli media claimed that Moscow had confirmed the drone which had entered Israeli airspace from Syria in July was Russian. In July, the Israeli army said that it had tried to shoot down a drone which had flown over the Golan Heights and returned to Syria with two missiles.

The Haaretz newspaper said, citing a high-ranking Israeli source, that in contacts with Israel Russia had admitted that the drone belonged to the Russian forces stationed in Syria. Reportedly, the Russian side said the drone had crossed into the Israeli airspace as a result of human error.

The publication said that the incident was the gravest since the deployment of Russian military in Syria in 2015 following the request from Syrian President Bashar Assad. It was the first time when Israel opened fire against a Russian aircraft operating in Syria, the newspaper added.

The incident was reportedly settled through contacts between the two countries' militaries.

Comment: Golan Heights is internationally recognized as Syrian territory usurped by Israel. What was so hilarious about this incident is that Israel's "defense shield" totally failed when it attempted to shoot down the "stray" drone. Whether or not this was the intention, it sure sends a message!