Incommunicado, PM only learned of Gaza rocket attack hours later
PM was unreachable en route to New York's UN summit in aircraft without communications equipment
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for several hours was unaware of a rocket launched from the Gaza Strip Tuesday night, since he was en route to the US on a plane that did not have communications equipment on board.
It was only after he landed in New York early Wednesday morning that the prime minister learned of the rocket, which was fired at the city of Ashdod and intercepted by the Iron Dome system, Israel Radio reported Wednesday evening.
The Prime Minister’s Office leases an aircraft for all of Netanyahu’s official visits; however the one leased for the premier’s trip to the United Nations General Assembly was not equipped with the necessary equipment needed for secure, long-distance communications.
The report said a number of government officials were outraged that the prime minister was unreachable for hours, calling the incident “grave.”
It was not clear why he was not updated via a satellite phone that, according to Yedioth Ahronoth, was with his delegation or even via the pilot’s radio, since the information was not classified.
Netanyahu is slated to address the General Assembly on Thursday, where he said he will tell the world how to deal with the aftermath of July’s nuclear deal with Iran, and counter Palestinian “incitement” and “crude lies” regarding Jerusalem’s Temple Mount holy site.
“I will… tell the nations of the world the truth about Israel, about our country,” he told reporters on the tarmac at Ben Gurion International Airport on Tuesday.
Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz was named interim prime minister until Netanyahu returns from the UN summit next week.