Israeli sources have said that the Lebanese civilian aircraft shot down north of Tel Aviv on Thursday was on a suicide mission inside Israel planned by the Islamist movement, Hizbollah.
The Israeli Air Force said it shot down the Cessna aircraft after it entered Israeli airspace Thursday morning, ignoring repeated warnings by the Israeli fighters that tried to stop it.
Israeli air force commander Gen. Dan Halotz told Israeli Radio later that Beirut's control tower tried to contact the pilot without success. He added that the Israeli fighters began escorting the plane when it entered his country's airspace headed towards the coastal area. Halotz said his men made eye contact with the pilot.
After the plane headed south of Hadera, where there are major urban centers, it was decided to shoot down the plane, Halotz explained.
The senior officer added that that “in such a sensitive period, and in light of Hizbollah threats, the air force has no option but to implement orders that say when a plane is becoming a danger, it should be [downed].”
The plane crashed in Michmoret, near Hadera on the coastal road between Tel Aviv and Haifa. The road was subsequently closed off.
Lebanese Minister of Transport Najeeb Miqati told reporters in Beirut Thursday that two Israeli fighters had entered his country’s airspace where they encountered the training plane.
He said that the pilot, identified by reports as Estephan Nikolian, a 30-year-old Lebanese citizen of Armenian origin, flew the plane without his trainer or coordination with the airport control tower.
Lebanese Interior Minister Elias Al Murr said the pilot, an Armenian Lebanese who lived in Cyprus, might have been suffering from psychological problems.
The UN special envoy to Lebanon, Staffan de Mistura, expressed regret over the incident. "All sides need to exercise maximum caution and restraint during the forthcoming critical days," he said, cited by Reuters.
Lebanese radio had reported that the aircraft was on its way to Cyprus – Albawaba.com
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