BRIEFS
Issue date: 11/11/09 Section: Eagle Eye
PALESTINE: Hamas Test-Fires Long-Range Rocket
Summary: The Israeli head of Intelligence stated that Hamas tested a long-range rocket capable of successfully reaching Tel Aviv.
Development: Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate Major General Amos Yadlin has released a statement reporting that Hamas has successfully test-fired a long-range missile into the Mediterranean Sea from the Gaza Strip. The Iranian-designed rocket has a range of approximately 37 miles, more than adequate to hit targets in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem from Gaza. Until now, their long range HM-20 Grad rockets were only capable of reaching Beersheba, at a distance of about 28 miles.
Analysis: Yadlin did not identify what missile system was fired. However, it can be speculated that Iran has provided the Fajr-5 system, which has a range of 50 miles. The Fajr-5 is a mobile system developed by the Iranians in the 1990s. If the militant group acquires the ability to reach the Israeli nuclear reactor in Dimona, the situation would become critical quickly.
This only intensifies the necessity for Israel to implement a successful short-range missile defense system that can combat all short range surface-to-surface missiles. According to recent reports, Hamas has been accumulating dozens of Fajr-3 rockets, but these only have a proven range of 25 miles. Hamas continues to alter and improve this current missile system in underground workshops located in the Gaza strip. These additions to the Hamas arsenal will only further the current threat stemming from neighboring hostile countries. In the coming weeks, Israeli intelligence and military forces will ramp up operations in order to seek and destroy Hamas weapons factories and smuggling tunnels, much as in the Israeli air raids on Oct. 21.
[William Buttner II]
PAKISTAN: Militants Take Fight to the Cities
Summary: Changes in target selection by the Tehrik-e-Taliban may reflect recent militant losses in South Waziristan and a desire to turn public opinion against the Pakistani army offensive.
Summary: The Israeli head of Intelligence stated that Hamas tested a long-range rocket capable of successfully reaching Tel Aviv.
Development: Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate Major General Amos Yadlin has released a statement reporting that Hamas has successfully test-fired a long-range missile into the Mediterranean Sea from the Gaza Strip. The Iranian-designed rocket has a range of approximately 37 miles, more than adequate to hit targets in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem from Gaza. Until now, their long range HM-20 Grad rockets were only capable of reaching Beersheba, at a distance of about 28 miles.
Analysis: Yadlin did not identify what missile system was fired. However, it can be speculated that Iran has provided the Fajr-5 system, which has a range of 50 miles. The Fajr-5 is a mobile system developed by the Iranians in the 1990s. If the militant group acquires the ability to reach the Israeli nuclear reactor in Dimona, the situation would become critical quickly.
This only intensifies the necessity for Israel to implement a successful short-range missile defense system that can combat all short range surface-to-surface missiles. According to recent reports, Hamas has been accumulating dozens of Fajr-3 rockets, but these only have a proven range of 25 miles. Hamas continues to alter and improve this current missile system in underground workshops located in the Gaza strip. These additions to the Hamas arsenal will only further the current threat stemming from neighboring hostile countries. In the coming weeks, Israeli intelligence and military forces will ramp up operations in order to seek and destroy Hamas weapons factories and smuggling tunnels, much as in the Israeli air raids on Oct. 21.
[William Buttner II]
PAKISTAN: Militants Take Fight to the Cities
Summary: Changes in target selection by the Tehrik-e-Taliban may reflect recent militant losses in South Waziristan and a desire to turn public opinion against the Pakistani army offensive.
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