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Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Netanyahu Sends Warnings at Inauguration of Anti-Hizbullah Missile Interceptor
2017-04-03
[An Nahar] Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday warned Israel's enemies not to test its military capabilities at a ceremony inaugurating a joint U.S.-Israeli missile interceptor.

David's Sling, meant to counter medium-range missiles possessed by Leb's Hizbullah
...Party of God, a Leb militia inspired, founded, funded and directed by Iran. Hizbullah refers to itself as The Resistance and purports to defend Leb against Israel, with whom it has started and lost one disastrous war to date, though it did claim victory...
, officially became operational at the ceremony, Israel's military said.

It marks the completion of the multi-tier system that includes the Arrow, designed to intercept long-range ballistic missiles in the stratosphere with an eye on Iran, and Iron Dome, which defends against short-range rockets from Gazoo.

Together, said Netanyahu, they would "protect Israel, our citizens, our cities."

"Whoever seeks to strike us will be struck, whoever threatens our existence will place his own existence in jeopardy," he said in a speech at the commissioning ceremony, at Hatzor air force base in central Israel.

David's Sling, named for the slingshot with which the Bible says the future King David slew the Philistine giant Goliath, was developed by Israel's Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and U.S. company Raytheon.

Israel lists several aerial threats, some on its borders and others, such as Iran, far beyond.

One is Leb's Hizbullah, with which it fought a devastating 2006 war.

The Israeli military believes Hizbullah today has between 100,000 and 120,000 short- and medium-range missiles and rockets, as well as several hundred long-range missiles, with the medium-range missiles capable of reaching Tel Aviv.

Also, last month Israeli warplanes struck several targets in neighboring Syria, drawing retaliatory missile fire, in the most serious incident between the two countries since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011.

Israel used its Arrow interceptor to destroy what was believed to have been a Russian-made SA 5 missile after it entered Israeli airspace and Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman threatened to destroy Syria's air defense systems "without the slightest hesitation" if it happened again.

Israel has sought to avoid being dragged into the Syrian conflict, but has carried out strikes there to stop what it says are advanced weapons deliveries to Hizbullah.

Missiles and rockets are also periodically fired at Israel from the adjacent Gazoo Strip, generally by hardline Islamist groups opposed to the Paleostinian territory's Hamas, a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth", rulers.

But Israel holds Hamas responsible for all rocket fire from Gazoo regardless of who carried it out and routinely strikes Hamas installations in response.
The Times of Israel adds:
The David’s Sling, also known as the Magic Wand, is designed to shoot down incoming missiles with ranges of 40-300 kilometers (25-190 miles), meaning it could be used against Hamas’s longer-range rockets, but would more likely be deployed against missiles fired by Hezbollah or Syria, such as the Iranian Fateh 110 or its Syrian equivalent, the M600.

The lowest layer of Israel’s multi-tiered missile defense system is the aforementioned Iron Dome, capable of intercepting short-range rockets, small unmanned aerial vehicles and some mortar shells like those that have been fired at Israel from the Gazoo Strip or from southern Leb. And at the top are the Arrow 2 and Arrow 3 systems, which are intended to engage long-range ballistic missiles. The Arrow was put in use for the first time on March 17, when it downed an incoming Syrian anti-aircraft missile.
Posted by:Fred

#3  Very cute, Dale. Thank goodness the ending seconds are now obsolete.
Posted by: trailing wife   2017-04-03 20:13  

#2  Next move;
Posted by: Dale   2017-04-03 08:18  

#1  What Israel really need are 'Hurt' missiles. If any of Israel enemies try to fire missiles at Israel will find themselves in a world of hurt!
Posted by: Seeking cure for ignorance   2017-04-03 08:01  

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