Tony Blair’s close encounter with the Israeli air force

Apparently, Tony Blair was very nearly killed by Israeli fighter jets on Monday . Blair’s pilots initially failed to respond to radio requests for identification when they entered Israeli airspace and the air force believed the private plane might have been part of a terrorist attack. Luckily the pilots did eventually respond and Blair was ...

By , a former associate editor at Foreign Policy.

Apparently, Tony Blair was very nearly killed by Israeli fighter jets on Monday . Blair's pilots initially failed to respond to radio requests for identification when they entered Israeli airspace and the air force believed the private plane might have been part of a terrorist attack. Luckily the pilots did eventually respond and Blair was unaware that the event took place until later. A malfunction in the air force's early alert system is being blamed for the mix-up.

Apparently, Tony Blair was very nearly killed by Israeli fighter jets on Monday . Blair’s pilots initially failed to respond to radio requests for identification when they entered Israeli airspace and the air force believed the private plane might have been part of a terrorist attack. Luckily the pilots did eventually respond and Blair was unaware that the event took place until later. A malfunction in the air force’s early alert system is being blamed for the mix-up.

Israel should probably get the kinks worked out before the next time a former head of state flies through. Blowing up the international community’s envoy to the Middle East might make negotiations a little awkward.

 

Joshua Keating was an associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating

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