Challenges for Israel in Countering Missile Threat

When a million Israelis took to their bomb shelters in the summer of 2006 defense specialists knew this would be a defining moment for Israel’s anti-missile strategy. By the end of the fighting Hizbullah had fired nearly 4,000 Katyusha rockets with a range of more than 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) onto Israeli communities, killing 43 civilians. The war only punctuated what some defense analysts had been saying for years – that the missile threat facing Israel was a top priority. Hizbullah’s Katyushas are not the only missile threat lingering over Israel. Israelis around Gaza are under constant fire from crude short-range Qassam rockets. Longer-range Katyushas have also been fired from Gaza, and there are indications that Palestinian organizations are trying to duplicate these tactics in the West Bank. These threats, and the potential of being hit by long-range missiles from Iran, mean Israel has to counter rockets of different ranges, altitudes, capabilities and destructive potential. Israel’s failure in dealing with future rocket attacks could spell defeat in any future war and could be detrimental for the country, both strategically and politically. Read more from Rachelle Kliger… ^[1]