PM unaware of Israeli planes' ‘irregular’ airspace use in central Mediterranean
Italian authorities confirmed that an Israeli military plane landed at an air base near Catania
The Prime Minister said he is not aware of any aircraft entering Malta’s airspace “irregularly” following reports of Israeli tactical and surveillance aircraft crossing the central Mediterranean on Tuesday night.
Citing redacted flight tracking data published by an Italian journalist and a military observer, military tracking website itamilradar.com said three C-130 Hercules aircraft left the Nevatim Air Base in Israel that afternoon.
Two landed at the Italian-US air base in Sicily, while tracking data for the third disappeared “near Malta”, according to the website. Italian defence authorities confirmed an Israeli C-130 had landed at the base.
Meanwhile, two surveillance aircraft "orbited” the Strait of Sicily before heading back to Israel with the two Hercules aircraft, the website said.
Quizzed on the reports on Thursday, Robert Abela told Times of Malta he was “not aware of any aircraft or other type of flying object that entered our airspace irregularly”.
He said “categorically” that he had not been contacted by the Israeli government regarding the reported flights.
The incident sparked controversy in Italy, with politician Angelo Bonelli asking the government for an “immediate explanation”, arguing it was “unacceptable for Italian bases to be used by military aircraft of a state that is conducting a massacre against the Palestinian people”, according to Il Messaggero.
Italian defence authorities told the outlet that an Israeli C-130 aircraft made a “technical landing” at the US part of Sigonella air base, “as part of a training and logistical support (refuelling) activity previously authorised”.
Italian authorities said the stop lasted around three and a half hours with logistical support provided to the airport “exclusively” by US personnel, and that only personnel and “no materials or equipment” were onboard the aircraft when it arrived.
The reported incident comes less than six months after a Gaza Freedom Flotilla vessel was damaged in an alleged drone attack, widely believed to have been carried out by Israel, just outside Maltese waters.
A C-130 Hercules aircraft – the same model as the aircraft mentioned in the recent tracking data – left Israel and circled Malta in the hours before the incident in May.
In an interview last month, Israel's ambassador to Malta, Ruth Cohen Dar told Times of Malta she had “no information” about the attack, "so I don’t know on what you’ve based the conclusion that Israel did.”