Posted on 02/18/2008 8:30:18 AM PST by maquiladora
JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel has deployed a battery of U.S.-made Patriot air defense missiles near the northern port city of Haifa as part of precautions against a possible attack by Lebanon's Hezbollah in response to the assassination last week of the group's top commander, Israeli security officials said Monday.
The officials said the battery was put on standby Sunday for the first time since Israel's monthlong war with Hezbollah in the summer of 2006, when the Lebanese guerrillas fired nearly 4,000 rockets into northern Israel.
The Israeli military said it was not its policy to comment on what a spokesman called operational readiness.
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Israel is prepared on all fronts for an attack.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
(Excerpt) Read more at pr-inside.com ...
Pingaroo
Could also be deployed with an eye to Syrian missiles, not just Hezbollah.
I don't know if they are PAC-3.
BTTT!
bump
Cabinet Secretary Oved Yehezkel, who serves as head of the "round table for emergency situations of the Jewish people," called the body's members, including Jewish Agency Chairman Ze'ev Bielski and several Foreign Ministry officials, for a meeting Sunday night.
I wonder how much of this is in response to Syria’s recent missile test? I didn’t get to read much about it on FR, so I do not know the particulars of the Syrian missile test (range, portability, warhead, etc).
arrows are reserved for the larger rockets..Patriots are designed for short range, smaller missiles (when used against Hussein’s scuds, they were ineffective.
I heard a brief bit about a test a couple of weeks ago. I did not get info on the type, range, or portability of the missile.
I did a search. The story is that Syria is developing a surface-to-surface missile with technical help from Iran.
ping
By Stan Goodenough February 08, 2008
With the assistance of its ally Iran, Syria has developed a new, more precisely-guided surface-to-surface missile with an improved ability to hit strategic Israeli targets.
This was the top story Friday on the website of the Israeli daily Ha'aretz - a leftist publication that normally plays down Arab aggression and insists that the countries surrounding Israel are interested in making peace with the Jewish state.
According to the report, senior Israeli ministers were recently appraised of this latest threat to their nation's security, which comprises an upgraded Iranian ZelZal missile with a 250 km range and able to carry exceptionally large payloads.
Israeli installations likely to be targeted with the rocket include airports, ports and factories.
The news comes at a time "when Israeli defense sources have expressed growing concern at the rearmament program of the Syrian armed forces, which is mostly being supplied by arms transfers from Russia,' Ha'aretz said.
deploying the PACs is no small measure
it appears something may be in the pike
also wouldn’t be surprised to see a full scale ground op in Gaza if the flag goes up with Hez
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