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Israeli officials are nervously watching events in Egypt's sparsely populated Sinai Peninsula, worried that a power vacuum in Cairo and the withdrawal of police forces will embolden the Bedouin tribes who help smuggle weapons to Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. In a sign of the rising tensions, Bedouin in the northern Sinai on Friday used rocket-propelled grenades to attack the headquarters of Egypt's state security in El Arish, a town close to Egypt's border crossing into Gaza, according to witnesses. Israel's fear is that with Egypt's police having all but disappeared from the peninsula—after police were asked to step...

As the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) recently announced, the Tropy active defece system for armoured vehicles has again been successfully tested during an exercise of the Israeli Army. Jointly developed by Rafael, Elta and the US company General Dynamics, Trophy is primarily designed for the protection of the Israeli-built Merkava 4 main battle tank (MBT) against threats such as anti-tank rockets and missiles. Providing active protection against incoming threats, the Trophy system (designated Windbreaker or ‘Meil Ruach’ by the IDF) uses sensors to detect threats and counters them by firing a special charge. Trophy has been designed to simultaneously detect...

The United States is to significantly increase the amount of military equipment held in Israel as part of a move to upgrade security ties between the two allies, press reports said Thursday. The move, which will see an extra 400-million-dollars worth of smart bombs and other precision weaponry and equipment moved to Israel over the next two years, was approved last week by the US Congress, the Israeli correspondent of Defense News reported. The upgrade will see the value of US military equipment stockpiled in Israel rise to one billion dollars in 2011, with another 200 million to be added...

Israeli police arrested an army NCO and charged him with treason for supplying information on border security, along the Lebanese frontier, to a local drug smuggling gang. The NCO, who worked on vehicle maintenance in a northern Israel army base, also provided the names of seven local civilians who were also working for the drug gang. Five of these have been arrested. What was most troublesome about this was that the drug gang was known to work with Islamic terror group Hezbollah, which controls most of southern Lebanon. The NCO provided information on which border posts were having problems with...

Israel's state-owned Aerospace Industries has briefed Western and other militaries on its TopGun system, designed to convert 155mm artillery shells into precision-guided weapons. "Using our extensive experience in developing missile systems, we took this technological challenge upon ourselves," Uri Sinai, general manager of IAI's MLM division, said. Executives said TopGun was comprised of a fuze that corrected the trajectory of artillery shells. The kit contained global positioning and inertial navigation systems as well as four fins fitted to the fuze. "The accuracy of projectiles equipped with TopGun, which is mounted on the artillery round, is 20 meter CEP [Circular Error...

The US House of Representatives on Thursday overwhelmingly backed President Barack Obama's plans to help Israel deploy an anti-missile system, in an unmistakable election-year show of support. By a 410-4 margin, lawmakers endorsed Obama's plan to give Israel 205 million dollars for its production of a short-range rocket defense system called "Iron Dome." "With nearly every square inch of Israel at risk from rocket and missile attacks, we must ensure that our most important ally in the region has the tools to defend itself," said House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman. "The looming threat of a nuclear-armed Iran, and...

The IDF has revealed a new strategy designed to secure the army's weapons and ammunition in case of war. Over the past two years, the army has been shifting equipment in order to keep it secure. The policy was revealed by head of IDF Logistics Brigadier-General Nissim Peretz on Wednesday in a conference at the Institute for National Security Studies. Top commanders looked into various methods of protecting supplies, and ultimately decided that fortification was not the answer, Peretz said. The new strategy will allow the IDF access to supplies in case of war while protecting equipment from targeted strikes,...

As Israel braces for more wars with Hezbollah and Hamas, the army has unveiled a miniature anti-missile system to protect its Merkava tanks and other armored vehicles from missiles that Hezbollah used with withering effect in the 34-day 2006 conflict. The system, known as Trophy, has been in development by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems for some time but was given impetus by the setbacks the Israeli military suffered in the 2006 fighting. The Merkava IV saw its first heavy combat in the 2006 war. At the recent unveiling of Trophy at a military base overlooking the Mediterranean, the commander of...

On a dusty, wind-swept field overlooking the Mediterranean, a small team of researchers is putting the final touches on what Israel says is a major game changer in tank defense: a miniature anti-missile system that detects incoming projectiles and shoots them down before they reach the armored vehicles. If successful, the "Trophy" system could radically alter the balance of power if the country goes to war again against Hezbollah guerrillas in neighboring Lebanon or Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. Its performance could also have much wider implications as American troops and their Western allies battle insurgents in Iraq and...

A verbal juggling act Auschwitz speech, response to Goldstone characterized by dishonesty Ze’ev Tzahor Published: 02.03.10, 00:10 / Israel Opinion Two days separated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech at Auschwitz and Israel’s response to the Goldstone Report. The two texts were very different in terms of their importance, length, and their intended audience. The Netanyahu speech was aimed at the Polish government, which currently holds an important EU status, while Israel’s response to the Goldstone report was meant to appease the UN. Yet despite the differences, it appears that the same person is responsible for drafting both texts; someone who...

Army of good boys is not going to win over Hamas. Piotr Zychowicz Article published in this weekend issue of a Polish conservative daily “Rzeczposolita” - “The Republic”. (My translation, far from being perfect, but I hope you’ll get the point) Many young Israelis have lost faith in the ideals of their fathers. They don’t want to fight for those ideals, neither to die for them. So – are the Jews ultimately doomed to lose the conflict with Arabs and to leave the Middle East? The recent operation in Gaza shows, that Israel has woken up and is showing its...

Merkava tank production to stop within four years. Leaders of the project decided that the benefits do not justify the cost of the product. Amnon Barzilai 28 Sep 06 16:21 The IDF has decided that the Merkava tank production line will be shut down within four years. "Globes" reports that the decision to stop production of the tank, one of the most expensive projects in the history of Israel's military industries and the pride of the army, was made shortly before the outbreak of the war in Lebanon. Leaders of the project decided that the benefits do not justify the...

IDF makes an example of female troops who say one size does not fit all. In a rare moment of navel-gazing, the Israeli army has declared war on the sexy soldier, ordering its female conscripts to close the gap between pants and shirts for the sake of military decorum. The crackdown is intended to restore discipline to a generation of young Israeli recruits whose approach to uniforms has become, well, less than uniform, with many soldiers altering their army-issue fatigues into low-rider fashion statements. Army officials say the issue came to a head at bases in Galilee and Golan Heights,...

To defend the existence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of the state of Israel. To protect the inhabitants of Israel and to combat all forms of terrorism which threaten the daily life. Basic Points : Israel cannot afford to lose a single war. Defensive on the strategic level, no territorial ambitions. Desire to avoid war by political means and a credible deterrent posture. Preventing escalation. Determine the outcome of war quickly and decisively. Combating terrorism. Very low casualty ratio. The Operational Level : Defensive Strategy - Offensive Tactics : Prepare for Defense : A small standing army with an early...

<p>BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) -- The Israeli army on Monday seized government-issued press cards from 17 foreign and Palestinian journalists covering the standoff between the army and armed Palestinians holed up in the Church of the Nativity.</p> <p>The journalists were stopped about 400 yards from Manger Square and the church compound, where 200 armed men and about 100 clergy and unarmed Palestinians have been besieged for 21 days, defying Israeli demands to surrender.</p>