Aiming at Dimona: Did the Syrian regime purposely target Israel?Much remains unclear about the incident on April 22, including why Syria fired a missile so wildly and so far south into Israel – and whether Israel’s interceptors failed to stop the threat.
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN
APRIL 22, 2021 13:59
A sleepless night on Thursday morning left many in Israel wondering what sirens at two in the morning, sounds of explosions and stories of airstrikes in Syria reveal about a shadowy conflict in the region. Israel used a Patriot air defense system to try to stop a Syrian surface-to-air missile that was fired from Syria and which set off sirens near Dimona, where a sensitive nuclear facility is located.
Israel has said the Syrian missile was not directed toward a specific target. However, that leaves questions about the explosions people reported from the South to the center, including areas near Modi’in and Jerusalem, and in Rechovot.
According to reports, the interceptor, which was apparently a Patriot system, failed to intercept the missile. This is not a good result when Israel said in the past year that it has increased the capabilities of its integrated, multi-layered air defense systems.
Israel has Iron Dome, David’s Sling and Arrow, three systems designed to stop threats from missiles to drones. It also has the US Patriot system. Jerusalem and Washington jointly developed Arrow and David’s Sling and Israel built Iron Dome, two batteries of which have been provided to the US Army in the past year.
Why was a Patriot chosen to take down the S-200 missile that was flying from Syria? ...
Jerusalem Post
