JERUSALEM, July 18, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Members of Israeli security forces examine debris of Patriot air defense missiles in Ayelet Hashahar, northern Israel, on July 17, 2016. Israel launched two missiles in a failed attempt to down a Syrian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) over the Israeli-held Golan Heights on Sunday, the Israeli army said. (Xinhua/Ayal Margolin/JINI)
JERUSALEM, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Israel launched two missiles in a failed attempt to down a Syrian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) over the Israeli-held Golan Heights on Sunday, the Israeli army said.
"Two Patriot air defense missiles were fired toward a drone which infiltrated Israeli airspace from Syria," the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson said in a statement Sunday.
The Israeli military said the missiles were fired after "a drone infiltrated Israeli airspace in the central Golan Heights." It added that the drone was not downed and had returned to Syria.
Two weeks ago, the Israeli army attacked two Syrian army posts after errant fire from the war-torn country hit the Israeli-Syrian border fence.
Israel occupied the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed them afterwards.
Israel has made it its policy not to interfere with the ongoing Syrian civil war, except for supplying medical assistance for wounded Syrians that reached the border.
Some cross-border fire incidents took place in recent years, mostly errant fire that trickled into Israeli territory. The Israeli military had responded on occasion with shelling and airstrikes following such incidents.
Israel had also carried out several air strikes in Syria in recent years, in an effort to thwart weapons transfer from Iran and Syria to the Lebanese Hezbollah militant organization.
The country remained quiet on these attacks up until two months ago, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted that Israel carried out "dozens" of attacks across the border.
Israeli leaders have repeatedly stated in recent years the military would "know how to act" in case Israel's security interests are compromised.
