Hi,
It is the second air penetration in two days.
Yesterday, around 16:00, an UAV have entered the air space of Israel. It has crossed into the militarized area on the Israeli–Syrian border near the ruined city of Quneitra. Two Patriot missiles, that were shot from around Safed, knock it down, before it crossed the border. Crossing into the non-militarized zone doesn’t considered such a violation the agreement between Syria and Israel nowadays. That is because on the other side of the border sits Iranian and Russian forces. The idea is void direct clashing with those forces. Therefore, a missed bomb that cross the border, doesn’t considered direct attack. Israel does react, when see find that new weapons systems are getting closer to the border, or when a direct attack is made like in the event in May 10th, when a direct Iranian attack was prevented and then a counter-attack was launched.
What did made this violation, and crossing into the Non-militarized zone by an UAV, different was the fact that it is the second event in two days (around 15:30 on 11.07.2018). The first one took place as PM Bibi was visiting Moscow. The UAV crossed into the Israeli air space stayed in it for about 15 minutes. It stayed for so long before shoot down, for the fear it might be a Russian drone, and taking it down might cause a politic crisis (again, when PM Bibi is negotiating with Putin on this exact subject). It was shoot down, after verifying it isn’t a Russian UAV. It managed to penetrate 10 kM into Israel, and fell down around southern part of the Kinneret.
The penetration: The shoot-down of the drone in 11.07.2018
This isn’t the first drone crossing the border between the countries, and this became kind of ordinary event as drones cross the border or comes near to it. The first big event was the Iranian UAV crossing the border and shoot down near Haifa. This event lead to a day of war in the north: and Israeli aircraft shoot down, and Iranian bases in Syria were bombed.
Right now things are very unclear from our, Israel, side. There is no one to take responsibility on actions on the other side of the border with Syria on Golan heights. It either Russian, that allows Iranian forces to sit down and lunch attacks on Israel. Those of course are danger to the safety of Israel citizens. Hezbollah militias also might be sitting on the other side, as the long arm of Iran, they also a threat to Israel peace (altougth they probably doesn’t hold drones). But in might be also Syrian forces fighting the rebels along the border, that some will say have nothing to do with Israel, and therefore need to be reacted to completely different. Israel prefer Syria to sit on the border and keep it quiet as it has been during 1974-2011 (the time when the Syrian civil war started). Russian forces that sits over the border are usually on Bashar al-Assad side on his fight against the rebels, and doesn’t have direct intention on Israel targets.
Take Care
Israel