Maariv: Planes landing at BG Airport pass within missiles range on West Bank
villages
Dr. Aaron Lerner Date: 29 July 2007

Maariv correspondent Avi Ashkenazi reports in today's edition that the
airport authority decided to use runway 26/08 this summer at Ben Gurion
Airport during the course of renovations of the main runway 12/30 being
carried out during the course of the summer.

The use of 26/08 requires flying over villages in Judea and Samaria at a low
altitude during the landing approach.

"In practice, the planes are exposed to shoulder fired anti-aircraft
missiles," writes Ashkenazi. "In the past the Shabak and IDF gave
instructions to the Ministry of Transportation and the Airport Authority to
avoid as much as possible carrying out landings on runway 26/08 in order to
reduce to a minimum the possibility that the planes would be hit during
landing as they pass over enemy villages. The security system even
instructed the Airport Authority that in any instance that a plane is
directed to land on this runway that security elements should be first
advised, so as not to put the plane in danger. Sources in the Airport
Authority told Maariv yesterday that before the renovation work began and
before the planes were diverted to land on part of 26/08, the security
system was updated and gave its approval. The Airport Authority refused to
detail if the planes are in danger during landing. The spokesman of the
Ministry of Transportation Avner Ovadiah replied: "In the past planes did
not fly over the area of Judea and Samaria, and recently the flights were
approved in light of the staff work that was done by the security system, in
the Security Department and the Ministry of Transportation, and after all
the necessary security measures were taken.""