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Israel Reportedly Fears Drone Was Sent By Iran To Spy On Dimona Nuclear Plant
Army said to believe downed UAV was part of a Hezbollah-launched operation — dispatched from Lebanon, but entering Israel via Gaza
Joshua Davidovich / The Times Of Israel
Israeli security officials are reportedly examining the possibility that a drone shot down deep in Israeli territory on Saturday may have been despatched in a Hezbollah-Iranian operation and may have been sent to surveil the Dimona nuclear site.
The army was still examining the remains of the downed unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) Saturday night and had released no official information about its investigation. But Israeli media reports suggest officials fear the drone may have been part of a larger operation to spy on strategic sites inside the country.
According to the Hebrew website Ynet, defense officials are examining the possibility that the drone was sent as part of an Iranian-backed operation meant to photograph the Dimona nuclear installation, home to Israel’s nuclear weapon program according to foreign media reports.
Israel has been seeking to encourage the international community to act with more urgency to thwart Iran’s nuclear drive, and has indicated that it might seek to strike at Iran’s nuclear facilities if all else fails. Iranian officials have vowed that any Israeli attack would prompt a counter-strike that would be catastrophic for Israel.
Army vehicles and helicopters are seen in an open area as they search for the remains of a drone in the Negev Saturday. (photo credit: AP/Yehuda Lachiani)
The drone reportedly originated in Lebanon, but took a circuitous route through the Mediterranean sea and around Israeli territorial waters before turning east and flying over Gaza and into Israel, according to reports on Israel Radio and in Maariv.
That route may have been designed to conceal the origin of the unmanned aircraft, or to evade Israeli detection. Nonetheless, the army reported that it began tracking the plane while it was still over the sea and shot it down over the Yatir forest, on the edge of the southern Negev desert, after it reached an unpopulated area.
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Maybe, could be, fear it might !
When it comes to Israel we get nothing but stories and the chances are they sent the drone themselves so they can tell the world how they are under attack and the jews that they need protecting
Do they need 5,000 illegal nukes to protect themselves instead of the 400 they already have and will they be asking americans for yet more money.
The tail is wagging the dog when it comes to Israel and the USA because they own all the politicians via banker bribes
CONGRATULATIONS TO ISRAEL FOR GOOD SHOOTING . THE DRONES MAKE GOOD
TARGET PRACTICE .