New: ‘Private’ Fighter Jet for Every Infantry Battalion
Tammuz 9, 5769, 01 July 09 08:54
by Gil Ronen
An IAF F-16 fighter (Israelnationalnews.com) Every single infantry battalion participating in war will soon have its "very own” IAF fighter jet at its beck and call, waiting for its instructions to give it close air support, the IDF has decided. A battalion that identifies a target it wants destroyed from the air will be able to authorize the strikes easily and independently, without having to pass the order up through the chain of command.
Standing army battalions will receive this extra empowerment by the end of 2010, and reserve battalions will all receive it in the course of the next three years.
[weJew:4957]
A missile's eye view of a terror squad's last moments. If you can't see the video, please click here.
A missile's eye view of a terror squad's last moments. If you can't see the video, please click here.
These goals were defined in the course of staff work currently being carried out by the Ground Force Command and the Air Force, with the goal of laying systematic rules of combat support for ground battalions.
Responsibility for directing the actions of the fighter jets supporting the battalions will be in the hands of the Artillery Liaison Officers (ALOs), because the Artillery Corps is responsible for elements of firepower from the regimental level downwards. The ALOs will be deployed as part of an Aerial Direction Crew that will also include a communications operator and Assistant ALO.
Learning lessons
The need for deployment of fighter jets in support of IDF battalions was one of the conclusions from the Second Lebanon War in 2006 and from Operation Cast Lead in 2009. As a first step, the IDF decided to embed close air support in the regimental level by creating the positions of Air Support Officers (ASOs). %ad%
The need for deployment of fighter jets in support of IDF battalions was one of the conclusions from the Second Lebanon War in 2006 and from Operation Cast Lead in 2009. As a first step, the IDF decided to embed close air support in the regimental level by creating the positions of Air Support Officers (ASOs). %ad%
The IDF has yet to decide whether the final authorization for attacks will be given by the ALO and the Battalion Commander, or by the ASO, who is in effect the IAF representative in the regiment.
It was decided that the fighter jet will attack ground targets at the request of the battalion commander only after other options have been tried, including the firing of ‘Gil’ missiles (see video above), mortars, artillery and combat helicopters.
It was also decided that in certain cases, fighter jets will be allowed to attack targets that are less than 1,000 meters (about 3,300 ft.) away from the IDF forces – the minimum range of safety that was in force in the IAF until now. The new orders apply mainly to combat in urban settings, in which most targets are situated at a relatively close range to the troops. Authorization for decreasing the minimum range of safety will only be given by the Division Commander.
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Magal to deliver intrusion protections
Published: June 30, 2009 at 11:57 AMMagal Security Systems announced it has been awarded several contracts to deliver its border and perimeter intrusion protection systems.
Israel-based Magal has received a contract to extend its Perimeter Intrusion Detection System at an undisclosed airport in Eastern Europe under a deal for $ 1.6 million.
Magal was also awarded $ 4.6 million to integrate its border protection solution in Israel and also deliver its Volumetric Intrusion Detection System at several nuclear power sites in Southeast Asia under a deal worth $ 1.3 million.
Company officials say Magal was additionally awarded a $1 million contract for its Taut Wire and Vibration Sensor technologies for integration at two unnamed airports in Southeast Asia.
"Magal is in the midst of a transition," Yoav Stern, Magal acting president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
"While we still believe there are some challenging times ahead, these latest additions to our backlog of signed orders and contracts, is actually making it one of the largest in our company's history."
Israel-based Magal has received a contract to extend its Perimeter Intrusion Detection System at an undisclosed airport in Eastern Europe under a deal for $ 1.6 million.
Magal was also awarded $ 4.6 million to integrate its border protection solution in Israel and also deliver its Volumetric Intrusion Detection System at several nuclear power sites in Southeast Asia under a deal worth $ 1.3 million.
Company officials say Magal was additionally awarded a $1 million contract for its Taut Wire and Vibration Sensor technologies for integration at two unnamed airports in Southeast Asia.
"Magal is in the midst of a transition," Yoav Stern, Magal acting president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
"While we still believe there are some challenging times ahead, these latest additions to our backlog of signed orders and contracts, is actually making it one of the largest in our company's history."
© 2009 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Hamas, Israel reject Amnesty claims
Jul. 1, 2009
Dan Izenber and Yaakov Katz , THE JERUSALEM POST
Dan Izenber and Yaakov Katz , THE JERUSALEM POST
Hamas joined Israel on Thursday afternoon in rejecting a 105-page Amnesty International report that accused Israel of the reckless use of weapons and wanton destruction during Operation Cast Lead, and Gaza terror groups of committing war crimes by firing rockets at the Israeli civilian population.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri called the report "unbalanced, unfair and unprofessional," blasting what he said was a comparison of the aggressors to the victims.
Zuhri called the firing of rockets "self defense," saying it was a legitimate response to Israel's actions.
On Wednesday night, the IDF said it was surprised that "a respectable organization" like Amnesty did not appropriately portray the unbearable reality of constant rocket attacks that Israeli citizens suffered from for the past eight years.
"It appears that [Amnesty] fell victim to Hamas manipulations," the IDF said.
"We did not find an appropriate reference in the report to the reality in the Israeli home front or Israel's security constraints and therefore we find the report not to be balanced," the IDF statement read.
The report, the IDF said, ignores the efforts the military made to minimize harm to innocent civilians. "During Cast Lead, the IDF used technologies, combat methods and advanced platforms all intended to minimize the risk to the civilian population," the statement read.
The IDF said that in many cases, before entering an area in Gaza, it dropped millions of flyers, made personal phone calls to homes of Palestinians and broke into the radio waves to warn civilians of the impending operation.
"We stress that the IDF aimed all of its operations against military targets and refrained from deliberately attacking civilians who were not involved in the fighting while putting its own soldiers at risk," the statement continued.
According to the figures published in the report, entitled "Operation Cast Lead: 22 Days of Death and Destruction," 1,400 Palestinians were killed during the fighting, which lasted from December 27, 2008 to January 18, 2009. Of these, 300 were children, more than 115 were women and about 85 were men over the age of 50.
Amnesty said that another 200 of the men who were under 50 were unarmed civilians who were not combatants. Some 5,000 Palestinians were wounded during the fighting.
Amnesty International also found that more than 3,000 Palestinian homes and hundreds of other properties were destroyed during the fighting and more than 20,000 structures were damaged. In addition to private homes, the organization said that the IDF destroyed factories, workshops, animal farms, orchards, government buildings, police stations and prisons.
"Much of the destruction was wanton and resulted from direct attacks on civilian objects as well as indiscriminate attacks that failed to distinguish between legitimate military targets and civilian objects.
"Hundreds of civilians were killed in attacks carried out using high-precision weapons - air delivered bombs and missiles and tank shells. Others, including women and children, were shot at short range when posing no threat to the lives of the Israeli soldiers," stated the report.
Donatela Rovera, the Amnesty International chief researcher for Israel and the territories, said that although Operation Cast Lead was not an illegal operation per se, many of the attacks carried out by the IDF during the operation violated international law.
Rovera, who spoke to reporters before the report was released, said Amnesty was concerned by two aspects of the IDF's use of weapons.
One was the question of why such high-precision weaponry fired from tanks and aerial vehicles caused so much collateral damage and casualties to the civilian population, considering how accurate they are. The report charged that the IDF deliberately carried out direct attacks on civilian targets and medical personnel and vehicles using these high-precision weapons.
The other question was why, at the same time, the IDF used far less-precise weapons, including mortars, artillery and white phosphorus, in densely populated residential areas.
One section of the report rejected Israel's charge that Hamas systematically used medical facilities, vehicles and uniforms as a cover for terrorist operations, saying it had provided no evidence to prove its case.
The report quoted Israeli authorities as saying Palestinians had fired 571 rockets and 205 mortar shells during Operation Cast Lead. Three Israeli civilians were killed in these attacks. Since 2004, 18 Israeli civilians have been killed, including four children.
Regarding these attacks, Amnesty International wrote, "Whether or not attacks actually result in civilian casualties, they are in violation of international law, which also prohibits attacks aimed at spreading terror among the civilian population. The patterns of attacks and statements by members and leaders of Palestinian groups also indicated that they have no qualms about launching attacks against civilians and that they in fact carry out attacks intending to kill and injure Israeli civilians. Such attacks constitute war crimes."
During the press conference, Rovera criticized the Israeli government for not willing to meet with Amnesty International researchers during and after the fighting, and of having refused to answer any of the questions they submitted in writing. 
A Turkish Meko 200-class ship built by German company Blohm and Voss.
NGO Monitor, a non-governmental group that monitors human rights organizations, charged that the Amnesty International report "denies that Hamas used human shields, excuses their violations and supports a strategy for Israel's isolation. The Amnesty report blames Israel almost exclusively for the conflict."
This article can also be read at http://www.jpost.com /servlet/Satellite?cid=1246443696703&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull
Fire in northern Israel, February 2009 (Israel news photo: Flash 90) Print
Tens of Simultaneous Fires in Northern Israel are ‘Terror Arson’
Tammuz 9, 5769, 01 July 09 10:54
by Gil Ronen(Israelnationalnews.com) Fire fighters in northern Israel fought dozens of blazes that broke out during the day Wednesday, most of them around noontime.
A source in the Hadera Fire Services told News1 that due to the fact that numerous fires broke out in a relatively limited area, the working assumption is that they were deliberately set. “We still do not know how the fires were set and we do not have details about the arsonist or arsonists,” he said.
Fire in northern Israel, February 2009 (Israel news photo: Flash 90)
In one of the fire locations, north of Rosh Pina, the fire spread to within close range of the residents of Rosh Pina, and dozens were asked to leave their homes. The Israel Land Fund said that more than 1,000 dunams of natural thickets had gone up in flames.
Arson likely
Initial investigations by fire fighter squads in the numerous fire locations found a likelihood of arson. “This is man-made terror,” a fire commander said. “Fires don’t just break out on their own.”
Initial investigations by fire fighter squads in the numerous fire locations found a likelihood of arson. “This is man-made terror,” a fire commander said. “Fires don’t just break out on their own.”
Fire locations included the Gilon Forest and locations near Karmiel and between Sakhnin and Kibbutz Eshbal. 200 dunams of natural thickets near the Yesha Fortress in the Upper Galilee were also burned. The vegetation in the area had been recovering from fires ignited by Katyusha rockets in the Second Lebanon War. %ad%
A large fire broke out in the hay storage facility at Kibbutz Giladi. Three large fires broke out near Tzfat, damaging electrical lines and causing disruptions to Tzfat’s power supply at noontime.
Dozens of fires broke out in the Wadi Ara area between Hadera and Afula. The thick smoke made it necessary to close off traffic on Highway 65 for some time.
© Copyright IsraelNationalNews.com
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PrintNavy mulls building ships locally
Jul. 1, 2009
Yaakov Katz , THE JERUSALEM POST
Yaakov Katz , THE JERUSALEM POST
Due to rising production costs, the Israel Navy is shelving a long-held plan to purchase the Lockheed Martin-built Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) in favor of a German-designed and Israeli-built corvette.
The Navy had been eying the LCS for several years. In 2008, it submitted a Request for Proposal (RFP) to the Pentagon to ascertain the price of the ship after a $5 million feasibility study to see whether the ship could meet Israeli needs and could be integrated with Israeli-manufactured systems.
A top Navy officer told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday that the LCS's rising cost had forced the Navy to look into alternative options for the two missile ships it had received a budget to procure under the IDF's current multi-year plan. The price tag on the LCS jumped from $220 million to close to $400 million, and according to Navy estimates, could currently be as high as $600 million each.
While the plan has not yet been approved by the General Staff, the Navy is working on another concept: having the 2,000-ton ship designed by the German company Blohm and Voss and built at the Israel Shipyards in Haifa. Israel is currently having two Dolphin-class submarines built in Germany.
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), which is being considered as the lead integrator for the project, already builds some of the Navy's small vessels, such as the Dvora-class fast attack patrol boat. However, this would however be the first time an Israeli shipyard built larger-scale missile ships.
Blohm and Voss are the manufacturers of the Meko family of warships, which include small corvettes and large frigates. The design would be similar to the existing Israeli Sa'ar-5 class ship but would be slightly larger to enable it to carry the massive Elta-made Adir radar, which is capable of providing an extensive over-the-horizon radar view.
"The design is based on an existing ship model," the officer said. "The challenge will be to make a relatively small ship large enough to carry everything we need, including the radar system."
The ship will be capable of carrying Special Forces and larger infantry units as well as mid-size vehicles alongside at least one helicopter. The ship will also be equipped with the anti-ship Harpoon Missile as well the Barak anti-missile defense system.
The new proposal will be brought in the coming months to IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi for approval. Once approved, Navy sources said it would take close to a decade to complete the construction of the two ships.
This article can also be read at http://www.jpost.com /servlet/Satellite?cid=1246443696709&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull
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