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"Iron Dome" vs. Grad Rockets: A Dress Rehearsal for an All-Out War?

(BESA Center for Strategic Studies-Bar-Ilan University) Uzi Rubin - In March 2012, the Palestinians in Gaza challenged Israel with a barrage of more than 160 rockets, hitting targets further within Israel than ever before. As a result of the Iron Dome missile defense deployment, the number of Israeli casualties was negligible and the material damages were significantly less than anticipated. No discernible tendency on the Palestinian side to slacken the rocket firing was noticed, in spite of its meager results. Since the Palestinians already possess rockets that can reach the outskirts of Tel Aviv, it stands to reason that they will try to leapfrog above Israel's missile shield to exact significant losses by zeroing in on Israel's central region. While the achievements of Iron Dome demonstrate the technical viability and strategic value of an effective missile defense system for population centers and national infrastructure, it is far from certain that Israel could presently protect its civilian population against an all-out missile offensive from members of the Iranian coalition. The writer served as head of Israel's Missile Defense Organization and oversaw the development of Israel's Arrow anti-missile defense system.
2012-07-16 00:00:00
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