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A fortified compound north of Palmyra in eastern Syria is equipped with medium-range and long-range surface-to-surface ballistic missiles, a new report by the Israeli Alma Research and Education Center said on Wednesday.
“In our estimation, the medium-range missiles are of the Fateh 110 type or Shahab 1 or Shahab 2, ranging from 300 kilometers to 500 kilometers (187 miles to 312 miles). The long-range missiles are Scud D (a Russian-made missile owned by Iran, the Syrian army and also by Hezbollah) or Zolfaghar (a long-range version of Fatah 110) that reach a range of up to 750 kilometers (468 miles),” the report said.
“It should be noted that Fatah 110 missiles (also called M600) constitute the main array of Hezbollah’s medium-range missiles and Hezbollah’s missile accuracy project focuses on them,” the Alma Center stated.
A newly exposed Syrian surface-to-surface missile site “threatens most of Israel.” Image courtesy of Alma Center.
With ranges reaching as far south as Beersheva, “the missiles…can threaten almost the entire territory of the State of Israel,” said the report.
The Alma Center identified the Palmyra area as a significant part of the land corridor within Syria used by the Iranian-Shi’ite axis, which has heavily deployed forces there. It’s also highly likely “that air-defense systems (probably made in Iran) were installed to secure the land corridor in general and the surface-to-surface missiles stationed there in particular,” the report said.
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Mossad Director David Barnea and Libyan prime minister Abdulhamid Mohammed Al-Dabaiba recently met in Jordan to discuss normalization and security cooperation, Saudi and Libyan media outlets reported Wednesday night. The reports said that Al-Dabaiba’s office denied that the meeting had taken place.
In November, local media reported that Saddam Haftar, son of Libyan warlord Gen. Khalifa Haftar, flew to Ben Gurion Airport for meetings with Israeli officials regarding potential normalization.
Besides the meeting never being officially confirmed, it was unclear who Haftar met with. The Mossad has reportedly communicated with various Libyan officials over the years. In addition, former national security council chief Meir Ben Shabbat reportedly had such contacts as well.
Last month, Libya’s long-awaited elections were postponed, and it is uncertain whether the various warring groups will be able to conduct the elections, let alone alter decades of officially hostile relations with the Jewish state.
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Four Jewish Israeli women have recently been arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran, the Shin Bet security agency announced on Wednesday after a gag order was lifted. An extensive investigation revealed that the suspects were contacted on social media by a man calling himself Rambod Namdar and pretending to be Jewish, but who was in fact an Iranian operative. After establishing a relationship with them, he tasked the suspects with photographing sites across Israel, for which they were paid.
All four suspects are Jewish immigrants from Iran or descendants of Iranian immigrants. Some admitted they had suspicions that Namdar was an Iranian operative, but nonetheless kept in contact with him.
The suspects were indicted earlier on Wednesday in the Jerusalem District Court. Their names are barred from publication following a gag order issued by the court at the request of their attorneys.
In response to the arrests, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett warned Israeli citizens on Wednesday to be “vigilant” against possible attempts by Iranians to “influence the citizens of Israel, Israeli society, to sow polarization and controversy, to undermine political stability in Israel and to damage public trust in the government.”
Israel uncovered an Iranian espionage network that has been recruiting Israeli women through social media.
PM Bennett: “I congratulate the Israeli Security Agency and the Israel Police on a successful operation that prevented terrorist activity against the State of Israel.” pic.twitter.com/8nETzUvGnp
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) January 12, 2022
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Two officers from a commando unit were killed in a so-called friendly fire accident at a base in the Jordan Valley in the West Bank late Wednesday night, the Israel Defense Forces said.
According to the military, the officers — both company commanders in the elite Egoz unit — were performing a patrol at roughly 11 pm around their base, known as Nabi Mussa, just north of the Dead Sea after a training exercise. As they were walking, they spotted a person they thought was a suspicious figure but was in fact another officer.
The officers, who were later identified as Maj. Ofek Aharon and Maj. Itamar Elharar, attempted to arrest this “suspect,” first calling for him to halt and then firing their weapons into the air, according to the military.
The third officer, hearing the shots but apparently not knowing they were fired by fellow soldiers, then shot back, fatally wounding both of them.
“The officers were killed after a mistaken identification led to a friendly fire incident,” the IDF said in a statement.
This misunderstanding came a night after someone had broken onto the Nabi Mussa base, and stole military equipment from it, including powerful night-vision goggles, the IDF said.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett consoled the families, saying that their loved ones had “devoted the best years of their lives to the security of Israel and the defense of the homeland,” and adding that the “…entire people of Israel mourns their passing.”
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The Israeli minister in charge of regulating Bedouin settlements announced on Wednesday that a compromise was reached on the tree-planting program in the Negev desert region. The activity had sparked two days of violent demonstrations and threatened to shatter the coalition government.
Welfare and Social Affairs Minister Meir Cohen said that the Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) forestry program will stop planting trees and the parties involved will convene to work out a new forestation plan.
The announcement came after a second day of protests by local Bedouins against the tree-planting program. Police made 11 arrests during clashes Wednesday morning, as the tree-planting resumed amid heavy security. Tuesday saw rioters torch cars, block trains and clash with police, lightly wounding two officers, according to media reports. A total of 18 arrests were made during the demonstrations.
Islamist Ra’am party chief Mansour Abbas threatened to withhold his faction’s four votes from the ruling government until the issue was resolved.
Many Negev Bedouin live in unrecognized townships scattered across Israel’s southern desert. The government has sought to relocate them into planned, recognized cities, but most Bedouin have refused, insisting on the right to stay where they are.
Recommended Reading
- Can Iran Stall Its Way to Nuclear Weapons? (Jeremiah Rozman, Israel Hayom)
- Israeli Scientists Detect a New Type of Supernova (i24News and Algemeiner)
- Jewish Museums Team Up to Create New Tool for Researching Holocaust Victims (Andrew Silow-Carroll, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
- ‘There’s No Way That They’re Going to Be Able to Learn About Israel on Social Media’ (Jewish News Syndicate and Israel Hayom)
- Sweet Dreams: How Israeli Tech Can Help You Get a Good Night’s Sleep (Alvise Czarnocki, NoCamels)
