TEL AVIV –– Israel has reduced air flights around the Gaza Strip in
fear of being attacked by Palestinian surface-to-air missiles.
Israeli officials said authorities have reduced civilian flights inside
Israel near the Gaza Strip. They said the move was taken after the Israeli
military concluded that the Palestinians have short-range surface-to-air
missiles.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense
Committee on Dec. 27 that Palestinian insurgency groups and the Palestinian
Authority have obtained anti-aircraft missiles. Sharon did not say how many,
but security officials said they comprise at least five SA-7 short-range
surface-to-air missiles.
Officials said authorities have banned the flight of crop duster planes
in agricultural areas near the Gaza Strip. They said authorities were
concerned that these light planes would become the first targets of
Palestinian anti-aircraft missiles.
The ban on flights along the Gaza Strip would continue until the PA
begins a crackdown on Palestinian insurgents. Officials said the Sharon
government has warned the PA of harsh retaliation for any anti-aircraft
missile strike.
Israel has been increasingly replacing its air force helicopter and
fixed-wing aircraft missions with unmanned aerial vehicles. The UAVs were
said to include those platforms that could fire missiles toward insurgency
targets.