The Israeli newspaper "Maariv" said today, Thursday, that Egypt asked 11 Israeli pilots to leave its territory after they landed there on Wednesday without obtaining visas, while the Israeli Foreign Ministry moved to return the pilots.
The newspaper reported that the Israeli pilots landed in Egypt with several light aircraft, adding that the Egyptian authorities asked them to leave the country for considerations related to national security.
"But the pilots were unable to take off to Israel, because the fuel stock has run out, and the weather conditions make it impossible to fly safely," Maariv added.
Diplomatic move
The newspaper quoted the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs as saying that the consular official at the Israeli embassy in Cairo and the ministry's headquarters in occupied Jerusalem are following up on the matter so that the pilots can leave Egypt and return to Israel.
"They traveled to Egypt without visas, which is their fault, and as a result they cannot enter the country," the ministry added.
And the Israeli "Jerusalem Post" website quoted a spokesperson for the Israeli Foreign Ministry as saying that the ministry's investigations indicated that the Israeli pilots had obtained permission from the Egyptian authorities to land, but they did not obtain a visa to enter the country.
The Egyptian authorities have not yet commented on the incident.