A helicopter transporting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a quick emergency landing Thursday after military officials spotted — then shot down — an unmanned drone that was entering Israeli airspace.
This is the second time in seven months that an unmanned drone had entered Israeli airspace without authorization, NBC reported.
“[Unmanned drones] pose a serious threat to the State of Israel’s security. The IDF will not tolerate any attempt to violate Israel’s sovereignty or harm its security,” Israeli Defense Force officials said in a statement published by NBC.
The helicopter carrying Mr. Netanyahu landed in the northern part of the country, while military shot the drone from the sky. His helicopter resumed flight shortly after, NBC reported.
“The [unmanned aerial vehicle] was tracked by IDF ground and aerial surveillance for the duration of its flight path as it attempted to approach Israel’s coast,” IDF said. “Israel Air Force aircraft intercepted the UAV and successfully downed the target five nautical miles off the coast of the northern Israeli city of Haifa.”
IDF didn’t confirm media reports that said Mr. Netanyahu’s helicopter landed for the incident.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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