The Israeli Government today rejected the British protest against the shooting down of five R.A.F. planes over Israeli positions on Jan. 7. The Israeli reply was routed via U.N. Secretary-General Trygve Lie because there are no formal diplomatic relations between the Jewish state and the British Government.
The note, which termed the British reconnaissance flight over the border region “illegitimate and ill considered,” placed all responsibility for the incident on Britain. Denying British claims that the planes were downed over Egyptian territory, the note said that supporting evidence of the Jewish contention that the planes were over Israeli territory is to be found in the statements of two British pilots who parachuted out of their planes and were captured by the Israelis, and in the location of one of the downed planes–it crashed in flames near Nirim, a Jewish settlement in the Negev.
The lengthy Israeli statement regretted that the Israeli Government was not able to accept as accurate the statement issued by the United Kingdom Government on the matter, and noted a British statement saying the planes were engaged in reconnaissance to ascertain the depth of the Israeli incursion into Egypt while a second flight was dispatched to obtain information regarding the planes missing from the first flight.
Even if the British statement is correct, the Israeli note said, the dispatch of British aircraft in collaboration with Egyptian forces to obtain information on Israeli positions constituted a grave breach of neutrality and warranted military counter-action against aircraft engaged in such a reconnaissance mission.
The claims contained in the British statement, the Tel Aviv note went on, were disproved however, by the evidence of both downed pilots who admitted that they loaded guns on their craft and photographed positions over Israeli territory.The unannounced flight took place from the direction of enemy lines when Israeli positions were being attacked from the air, the note pointed out, and therefore the British planes were unavoidably regarded as enemy aircraft and became the target of defensive fire from Israeli ground forces. The second flight, whose planes were loaded with bombs, came as a battle formation and air combat occurred ten kilometers inside Israel.
“The Provisional Government of Israel regrets any encounter which took place between the Israeli and the Royal Air Forces,” the note said. “The government regrets that a British pilot lost his life, but considers that responsibility lies with those who ordered the operation which, in the light of the evidence cited, cannot be regarded as illegitimate and ill-considered.”
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