FREEMAN CENTER BROADCAST- September 3, 2008
FREEMAN CENTER FOR STRATEGIC STUDIES
| Wednesday, September 3, 2008 | | Defense industry develops GPS mortar shell - 10 km range - 3m accuracy | | Yaakov Katz , THE JERUSALEM POST Sep. 2, 2008
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/servlet/Satellite?cid=1220353263631&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull Implementing the lessons of the Second Lebanon War, Israel Military
Industries has designed a mortar shell that uses a satellite guidance system
to accurately hit its target. The 120mm mortar shell is in the final stages of development by IMI and the
American Raytheon defense company. The shell has a range of 10 kilometers
and with the GPS system hits targets within a three-meter radius. The built-in guidance system also allow operators to direct the mortar shell
to its target with a laser-honing device. Officials said the "smart mortar" would improve infantry units' ability to
neutralize enemy forces that were positioned out of sight. Since the shell
is especially accurate, IMI CEO Avi Felder said military units would be able
to carry fewer mortar shells into battle while achieving the same level of
lethality as in the past. The new mortar shell was unveiled on Tuesday at a press conference held at
IMI headquarters in Ramat Hasaharon ahead of the government-owned defense
industry's 75th anniversary next week. In 2007, IMI had $575 million in sales, and forecasts for 2008 are that the
company will take in $676m., Felder said. It is currently investing $85m. in
research and development per year. One of the company's key products that is currently undergoing final testing
is the Iron Fist active protection system for tanks and armored personnel
carriers. IMI says it can neutralize all anti-tank threats, including
kinetic (those without explosive charges) shells fired by enemy tanks. Iron Fist is in its final stages of testing, according to Felder, and will
be installed on the IDF's new Namer APCs by the end of the year. It will
likely become fully operational by the end of the decade. The IDF plans to install Rafael Defense Systems' Trophy active protection
system on Merkava tanks in 2009. The Iron Fist consists of a radar and passive optical system that detects
incoming threats and destroys them within a fraction of a second using a
combustible blast interceptor. Unlike the Trophy, which fires off a large
number of projectiles, the Iron Fist intercepts incoming threats by using a
rocket the shape of a mortar shell that destroys the threat with a blast
that crushes its soft components or deflects the missile or kinetic
projectile in flight. Felder said several countries had expressed interest in the Iron Fist and
that IMI planned to hold a series of simulations for foreign military
officers in the coming months. | Wednesday, September 3, 2008 | | Military Intelligence maintains constantly updated maps in computer for distribution to units on short notice | | 'No more obsolete maps to combat units'
Yaakov Katz , THE JERUSALEM POST Sep. 3, 200
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/servlet/Satellite?cid=1220353266504&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull The IDF's Military Intelligence has dramatically increased its relevance and
capabilities since the Second Lebanon War, when some field units went into
combat with outdated maps of Hizbullah strongholds, IDF Chief Intelligence
Officer Brig.-Gen. Yuval Halamish told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday. "When we look back today at the past two years we are without a doubt in a
different place," Halamish said in a rare interview he granted the Post in
honor of MI's 60th anniversary. "Like the rest of the IDF at the time, MI
was busy focusing on the Palestinian arena and that is where we invested our
resources." Incidents such as units being given outdated maps before going into combat
should never have happened, he said, revealing that today MI has established
an advanced computerized database that stores all of the maps and other
intelligence material that is continuously updated and can be distributed to
relevant units on short notice. "We now have updated materials at all levels and this never ends," he said.
"Today, the technological capabilities are very advanced and allow us to
create material in real time and store it in computer databases." On Wednesday evening, MI will celebrate 60 years of operations at a festive
ceremony in Latrun that will be attended by Halamish, IDF Chief of General
Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and President
Shimon Peres. Reflecting on the past 60 years, Halamish said that MI has had many
successes but unfortunately also some failures - particularly before the
outbreak of the Yom Kippur War in 1973. He said the branch did not forget
its failures and used them to improve. "Someone who doesn't recognize his past will have difficulty looking to the
future," Halamish said. "MI has had failures in the past alongside many
successes, which since they are not publicized like the failures are not
well known by the public." Intelligence work, he said, was extremely complicated since "your mission is
to infiltrate and understand the adversary as if you are part of him." That is why, he said, the IDF invested major resources in recruiting the
best people to MI. "The IDF understands that intelligence superiority and excellent
intelligence is vital," he said. "The mission is to obtain and bring
relevant and effective intelligence to the IDF so we can win in every
confrontation." Halamish said that one of MI's major challenges today was retaining officers
who were offered lucrative positions in the private sector. "Much depends on commanders and the challenges the officers face, Zionism
and their readiness to serve," he said. "If it is money they are looking for
they would go to hi-tech, where they start with double the salary I can pay
them." Another challenge, he said, was finding soldiers who knew Arabic or Persian
to serve in MI. "There are not many high school students who know Arabic
today," he said. "We need these people, since in the end we need to
understand what our enemies are saying." That enemy, he added, was advancing and improving its capabilities just like
Israel and was continuously trying to gather intelligence on the IDF. Since the Second Lebanon War, when the IDF discovered advanced Hizbullah
listening posts, the IDF has improved its level of security and now forbid
officers from entering sensitive meetings with cellphones. "They are progressing and improving capabilities and, just as I gather
intelligence on them, they gather [intelligence] on us," he said. "There is
more awareness today since this is a real threat... We understand what the
other side wants to know and what it is looking for." | | Wednesday, September 3, 2008 | | 'Israel-Syria talks to focus on borders' | |
JPost.com Staff , THE JERUSALEM POST Sep. 3, 2008
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/servlet/Satellite?cid=1220353269895&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
A fifth round of indirect peace talks between Israel and Syria are scheduled
to begin on September 7 in Istanbul, according to reports in the
London-based Arabic dailies on Wednesday.
According to French sources quoted by Asharq Alawsat, previous talks have
been fruitful and the fifth round will focus on demarcating a future border
following Israel's withdrawal from the Golan Heights. According to a French
source quoted by Al Hayat, sketching the border would be "the main topic" of
the discussions. The sources claimed that Israel and the US have reached an agreement whereas
France will take part in the mediation between the two parties as soon as
the talks become direct. The Jerusalem Post could not confirm the reports in the Arab press. The reports of France's possible involvement in future talks came as French
President Nicholas Sarkozy was scheduled to land in Damascus for the first
visit by a Western head of state in several years. Sarkozy will be joined in
Damascus on Thursday by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the
sponsor of the talks thus far, and Qatari Emir Hamad bin Khalifa. The three
of them are scheduled to hold a summit with Syrian President Bashar Assad. On Tuesday, Assad declared that indirect negotiations with Israel have
brought "the possibility of peace," although the two countries still have
quite a way to go toward that goal. In an interview with France-3 television, the Syrian leader said officials
from both sides, as well as from Turkey, were working to make direct
negotiations happen. "Today there is a possibility of peace," Assad said. "But nonetheless, we
cannot say that we are close to achieving peace. We are preparing for direct
negotiations. When we reach that step, we will be able to say that we are
approaching peace." "Today, we can only say that we have opened the door to peace," he said, in
remarks in Arabic that were dubbed over in French. On Monday, Turkish sources said that there was no new date scheduled for the
fifth round of talks, which was originally scheduled for last week. There has been speculation that the delay in the talks was due to a
bureaucratic problem. Olmert's chief of staff, Yoram Turbowicz, headed the
Israeli delegation but quit his post in the beginning of August, just after
Olmert announced his intention to resign following the Kadima primaries. Olmert at the time asked Turbowicz to stay on and deal with the diplomatic
issues he had been heavily involved in, primarily as a liaison with
Washington and heading the talks with Syria. The legal aspects of Turbowicz
working as a volunteer, or setting up a new framework for him in the Prime
Minister's Office, have not been resolved and are being dealt with by the
attorney-general, giving rise to speculation that the talks will be delayed
until this is sorted out. Herb Keinon and AP contributed to this report | | | Monday, September 1, 2008 | | Hamas calls Arab countries to send armies to Jerusalem rather than Gaza | | Hamas movement called the Arab countries to send troops to liberate
Jerusalem, In a press conference in Gaza, Hamas spokesperson, Ismail Radwan,
said that the Arab countries should send its armies to liberate Al-Aqsa
Mosque rather than to send troops to Gaza. Radwan's comment came as a response to a question on the Hamas attitude on
an Egyptian suggestion to send Arab troops to Gaza. In an interview with the Cairo based "October" magazine, the FM of Egypt,
Ahmed Abu Al-Ghait suggested deploying Arab troops in the Gaza Strip to halt
any internal Palestinian fighting and to prevent any Israeli aggression. In the same press conference, Hamas described on Sunday that the Abbas-
Olmert meeting in Jerusalem as "failed efforts and absurd meeting". Hamas spokesman, Sami Abu Zuhri, said that Hamas is "satisfied for the
(PA-Israeli) failing of the negotiations." The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the Israeli PM Ehud Olmert, met
today in Jerusalem and talked on several issues including the final status
issues. Hamas denounced the PA arrests against its members in the West Bank,
asserting that such arrests restrict the efforts of launching a
comprehensive national dialogue. PA arrested several Hamas members in the West Bank under a security
justification the same in Gaza in which Hamas is still detains tens of Fateh
members. Radwan criticized the PA "political arrests", while Hamas arrests several
political officials including Gaza Governor Mohammed Al-Qidwa and Khanyounis
Governor Osama Al-Farra. Hamas spokesperson criticized the running strike in the civil servant
sector, including Education and Health. Fateh loyalist employees launch a general strike in response to what they
say "Hamas practices and humiliation against them." |
| Tuesday, September 2, 2008 | | UNIFIL details role in effort to get Israelis out of Ghajar | | BEIRUT: The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said Tuesday
that it had offered to Israel and Lebanon concrete proposals on how to
facilitate an Israeli withdrawal from the northern part pf Ghajar village.
Israel seized control of the northern side of Ghajar, along with the
disputed Shebaa Farms, when it captured the Syrian Golan Heights in 1967.
The Jewish state ostensibly withdrew from the village in 2000 when it pulled
out of most of South Lebanon, only to re-occupy it during the 34-day war of
July-August 2006. Although the Israeli Cabinet agreed to hand over Ghajar to UNIFIL in
December 2006, it has continued to occupy the side north of the
UN-designated "Blue Line" which serves as a de facto border between the two
countries. In a statement released on Tuesday, UNIFIL spokesperson Yasmina Bouzianne
noted that UN Security Resolution 1701, which was issued to end the 2006
hostilities, "calls on Israel to withdraw from all Lebanese territory." She
said that UNIFIL made proposals to both Israel and Lebanon on how to best
facilitate an Israeli withdrawal from the northern part of Ghajar "in
accordance with 1701." UNIFIL's commander, Italian General Claudio Graziano, had met separately
with Lebanese and Israeli officials to discuss the proposals, Bouzianne
said, adding that both sides had been positive toward the initial
suggestions and that the talks had encouraged the peacekeeping force to
pursue its efforts to bring about an Israeli withdrawal. On Tuesday, Bouzianne told the pan-Arab Asharq al-Awsat newspaper that she
hoped Israel and Lebanon would reach agreement over Ghajar soon, which she
said would allow for UNSCR 1701 to be practically implemented. If abided by,
the UNIFIL proposals could be a "huge contribution to the building of trust
in the region," added Bouzianne. Also on Tuesday, the trial of two Islamic Jihad members accused of planning
attacks on UNIFIL troops and on state security installations began at a
military tribunal. According to a judicial report, Bashir Mohammed Talal and Mohammed Youssef
Hamadi both denied planning attacks. Talal said he had fired rockets at
Israel from South Lebanon on two occasions, while Hamadi admitted to "having
played a role in the rocket attacks against Israel." The two also testified that they had been trained on how to use weapons and
explosives at the Palestinian refugee camp Ain al-Hilweh, near Sidon. | |
