Israeli air force jets took part in several exercises over Germany on Tuesday – including flying over the former Nazi concentration camp Dachau – marking for the first time that Israeli jets were ever in German airspace.
The moment the Luftwaffe commander, General Ingo Gerhatz, welcomed the Israeli air force into German airspace was captured in a video.
“On behalf of the German Air Force, it is an honor for me to welcome the Israeli Air Force for the first time in the history of German airspace,” Gerhatz was quoted as saying in a video released Tuesday. free.
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General Amikam Norkin, the leader of the Israeli jets, responded by saying he was ‘proud’ to lead his first deployment in Germany.
“It’s a testament to our strong ties and mutual commitment,” he said. “I salute you and your Air Force.”
German air force Bundeswehr Eurofighters and an Israeli air force jet fly in formation over the Fuerstenfeldbruck base in commemoration of the 1972 Olympic Games assassination attempt in Fuerstenfeldbruck, Germany, on Tuesday 18 August 2020. (Sven Hoppe / dpa via AP)
On Tuesday, the two air forces marked the occasion with two Israeli F-16s and two German Eurofighters escorting an Israeli air force Gulfstream 6-500 carrying the commanders of both air forces over the Dachau memorial camp outside Munich. A third Eurofighter filmed the formation.
They helped the Jews and others killed there during the Holocaust.
They also flew over Fuerstenfeldbruck Airport in honor of the 11 Israeli athletes who were killed as part of the massacre attack in Munich during the 1972 Summer Olympics.
Two athletes were killed and nine others were taken hostage by the Palestinian group Black September from the Olympic Village on September 5, 1972. During a clash at the airport by German police, the other athletes, along with five of their prisoners and a West German policeman, were killed.
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Six Israeli F-16s, two Gulf Streams and two Boeing 707 tankers arrived in Germany on Monday for two weeks of exercises with the German and Hungarian air forces. About 180 Israeli individuals are involved.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
