IAF pilots
photo: IDF archive
Painful lesson: While driving to his base Thursday morning, an F-16 pilot was harassed by two Bedouins - an incident that ended badly for the Bedouins, Yedioth Ahronoth reported.
Around 8:30 am, while the pilot was traveling to the Nevatim army base near the town of Arad, two cars driven by two Bedouins approached the pilot's car. One Bedouin drove passed the pilot at high speed and then stopped abruptly. Later, the two Bedouins attempted to force the pilot's car to the side of the road. During this entire incident, the pilot was signaling to the other drivers that they were behaving dangerously and that he would not take part in this game.
At one point the Bedouins managed to forced the pilot to stop the car at the side of the road. They subsequently approached his car with bats.
When the pilot got out of his car, one of the Bedouins attempted to slap him. Unfortunately for the attackers, it turned out that the pilot is not only proficient in flying aircraft, but also in hand-to-hand combat. After a short struggle, both Bedouins were on the ground, moaning in pain.
As the pilot arrived at the Nevatim army base, he reported the incident to his commanding officer, who informed police. When police officers arrived at the scene, both Bedouins were not there, supposedly carried off by their friends. According to information acquired by police, the two were badly beaten up.
The Negev District Police said that the incident is being investigated and that efforts are underway to locate the two attackers.
Yossi Yehoshua also contributed in this article