[TheBagman]

ABC News: Close Call: Israelis Almost Take Out Tony Blair's Jet

The executive jet being used by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair was just minutes away from being shot down by the Israeli Air Force.

Tony Blair honoured for Northern Ireland peace commitment.Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair... Expand

Tony Blair honoured for Northern Ireland peace commitment.Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair speaking during a meeting at Dublin Castle which forms part of a series of events to mark the 10th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. Picture date: Friday April 11, 2008. Also attending were, US Senator George Mitchell and the outgoing Irish premier Bertie Ahern, the three men were attending a gala dinner in aid of the charity, Turn the Tide of Suicide. Speaking before the event Mr Ahern said: "It is particularly appropriate that we honour Tony Blair, his achievements and his huge personal commitment to the cause of peace in Northern Ireland as we mark the 10th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

Blair, who is now the international community's special envoy to the Middle East, was traveling earlier this week to a special economic conference in the Palestinian city of Bethlehem from Egyptian airspace when two Israeli fighter jets were scrambled to intercept his plane.

Due to a technical fault in Blair's aircraft, its pilot did not respond to Israeli air traffic controllers' calls, leading to suspicions that the jet may have been on a terrorist mission.

The two Israeli planes flew directly above the Blair plane in a position usually taken before attack.

It was then the pilot of the executive jet realized something was wrong and hurriedly made contact with the Israeli air traffic controllers thereby ending the drama.

"They were unaware of it while they were on the plane. They didn't hear about it until afterwards," according to Ruti Winterstein, a spokeswoman for Blair's office.

There was no official comment from the Israeli Defense Force's press office, which normally refuses to comment on what its calls "operational" details.

But an unnamed security source contacted by ABC News confirmed that the incident took place and that the two Israeli fighters were scrambled in accordance with standard procedures designed to protect Israel's skies.

The special economic conference in Bethlehem has been convened to raise much-needed funds for the Palestinian Authority, and to stimulate an economic recovery in the hope that it will encourage Palestinians to support the current U.S.-backed peace process with Israel.

[taco]

This would have made for a great news watching day had the operation not been aborted.

[elroypornlab]

Yea sounds like something America might do.