Report: Netanyahu’s plane got F-35 escort upon return from US at wife Sara’s insistence

Walla news reports that when two Israeli Air Force jets were scrambled to escort Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plane when he returned from the US last month, the demand did not come from security services or even the premier himself, but from his wife, Sara, who feared an attempt to shoot down the plane in retaliation for Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah a day earlier.

Citing unnamed sources, the report says the Prime Minister’s Office first asked for an escort for the entire journey, which was rejected by the Air Force, and later asked for an escort for the trip’s final leg, which was approved, and two F-35s escorted the plan into Israeli airspace.

The prime minister’s plane, Wing of Zion, is already equipped with an anti-missile protection system.

The report also says the PMO sought to publish a photo of the escort, which was refused by the IAF. It says the jets were even instructed to fly behind the premier’s plane so that no one on board could take photos for PR purposes.

The PMO rejects the report, calling it “utter fake news.” The IDF does not confirm or deny it, saying only that “security for the prime minister’s plane is determined according to security assessments and regulations.”