Man who saved glider recounts incident

The farmer proceeded to take out his gun and fire a shot in the air while his friends summoned security forces.

“Then the IDF arrived and

it was like seeing a movie right before our eyes,” he told Ynet.

Kibbutz Manara farmers, who also moonlight as Border Guard volunteers in the Galilee region, spoke to Wexler before he took off, and one of them even warned him that he should cancel the glide due to strong eastern winds.

But Wexler said in response that he knew what he was doing, they claimed.

The farmers, who were just finishing up their day’s work in the fields located about 200 meters (about 650 feet) from the border security fence, noticed Wexler fighting the winds and landing in Lebanese territory.

“I saw him land in Lebanese territory,” one of the farmers, Amir David-For, told Ynet after the incident.

“He landed with the parachute and could not release himself from it, and within seconds I noticed a Hizbullah member approaching him in a blue Subaru Leona. He came out of the car

holding an M-16 rifle. I knew I had to act quickly, and all I was thinking was, ‘What should I do to keep him alive and bring him back to our side.’”

“I took out my gun - and even though I knew I was 150 meters (about 500 feet) away from the terrorist and could not fire at him, I knew I could at least deter him."

After David-For fired in the air, the terrorist climbed back into his car and fled the scene. Security forces arrive within seven minutes, but additional Hizbullah members arrived at the scene in a jeep and a Mercedes, got out of the vehicles and made their way toward Wexler.

IDF troops crawled under a security fence gate, hurried toward the glider and whisked him back to Israeli territory under heavy fire.

“I cannot say what I did was dramatic,” David-For continued.

“(Wexler) is lucky we arrived after within the first five minutes; I know that had we not arrived on time he would have remained there, and this drama would have ended differently.

Security Council mentions Hizbullah as cause of escalation

After being rescued, 26-year-old Adam Wexler said: “Were it not for the army, I would still be in Lebanese territory. If the army wouldn’t have rescued me, I wouldn’t be alive. I went through difficult moments.”

He crossed the border near Kibbutz Manara, and, apparently due to the strong winds, reached the Lebanese village of Mais el-Jabal.

The IDF forces went on high alert immediately after reports of the incident surfaced. Heavy exchanges of fire between the army and Hizbullah ensued in the area around 3:00 p.m. after Hizbullah members spotted the Israeli.

Wexler’s girlfriend, Karin Krenenberg, told Ynet, “Adam is a responsible man; this is his job, and he flies almost every day, so he knows the area well.

“I spoke with him immediately following his rescue; I understood he was fine and was not physically harmed,” she said.

“I am sure he is under a lot of pressure, because he had no intention of mobilizing everyone as he did. I am waiting for him to come out of the police interrogation so we can talk; I want him to come home already.”

Meanwhile, in an announcement published Wednesday, the U.N. Security Council said it had decided to express its deep concern of Hizbullah's hostile operations in the northern border. The Security Council called on the Lebanese government to apply its sovereignty and prevent the use of its territories.

This is the first time that the Security Council mentions Hizbullah as a cause of escalation in Israel's northern border. The announcement calls on both sides to maintain the Blue Line.