The
system, developed by Israel, sponsored by the US, was again involved
in fake news and a dubious major security incident last night, less than 30 days before the
general election.
VIDEO:
Fake new: “Successful intercept” by Iron Dome in the Tel-Aviv
sky; posted on March 14, 2019 by New24/7.
Figure. Fake news: “Missiles in the Tel-Aviv sky”. The photo purports to show the launch of two Iron Dome interceptors; March 15, 2019 headline of the print edition - Israel Hayom daily – Sheldon Adelson’ s propaganda organ for Netanyahu.[i]
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Tel-Aviv,
March 15 – last night around 9:00 pm loud missile attack alarms
were sounded in Tel-Aviv, and loud explosions were heard, leading
some people to panic. That is agreed by all. The rest of the story
is dubious.
Who
fired what last night?
Were
Iron Dome interceptors launched? Videos were published almost
immediately by on-line news channels and broadcast by public
television, showing “successful intercepts” by Iron Dome of two
Fajr-5 missiles, allegedly fired from Gaza. Nir Dvori, public
television Kan 11 military reporter, explained that “one
successful intercept is certain”. However, later last night, IDF
spokesman Ronen Manelis stated that Iron Dome interceptors had never
been launched at all. [ii]
Who
fired the missiles? That question remains murky as well. Initially
it was claimed that the missiles were fire by Hamas from Gaza, later
IDF claimed that the missiles were launched “in error”, or by
some splinter group in Gaza.
Today,
Shmuel Meir, Haaretz contributor, writes in Twitter, that all
photographs and videos of Iron Dome launch over Tel-Aviv last night
were “fake news”.
Figure. News1 report: Top – video, purportedly showing the very second of successful “intercept” by Iron Dome over Tel-Aviv last night. Bottom – the headline of the same news item says: “Two rockets fired towards Tel-Aviv area; Iron Dome intercepts were not launched”. [ii]
–-
Some
news outlets, for example News1 (above), outdid themselves,
publishing in the same item conflicting reports – showing a videos
or photographs of the purported Iron Dome “successful intercepts”,
while publishing statements by IDF spokesman that no Iron Dome
interceptors had been launched.
Massive
Israeli retaliation, approved by Netanyahu alone, less than 30 days
prior to the general election
Last
night Israeli air-force conducted massive air-raids over Gaza.
This
morning, analyst Shmuel Meir writes: [iii]
The
Security Cabinet of the Israeli Government is the only one that is
authorized to decide on military actions. It was neutralized last
night in favor of a dubious forum, which included only one man –
Netanyahu - in his double hats as Prime Minister and Minister of
Defense, who ordered IDF to launch a massive attack on Gaza, which
may deteriorate to war…
All
of the above events are taking place less than 30 days before the
general election, which was scheduled ahead of its normal time by
Netanyahu. The change of election date is generally seen as a
maneuver by Netanyahu ahead of his pending indictment in several
separate corruption cases.
According
to polls, over the past few weeks, Netanyahu’s Likud party has lost
its leading position. Instead, a newly created party, led by 3
former IDF chiefs of staff, is leading in the polls. Netanyahu’s
“softness”, and his inability to manage the situation in Gaza has
been one of his weaknesses, which has been repeatedly brought up in
the campaign.
Later
this month, just prior to the general election, Netanyahu is
scheduled to travel to the US for a speech at the annual AIPAC
convention and a visit to the White House. Both are seen in Israel as
election propaganda events, conducted in English from abroad.
Iron
Dome performance record is dubious at best
This
is not the fist time that media publish false reports regarding Iron
Dome performance. In an incident a year ago involved early media
reports of a massive rocket attack from Gaza on neighboring Israeli
towns, which was successfully intercepted by Iron Dome. Later, the
reports were corrected: There was no rocket attack from Gaza at all,
and there were no “successful intercept” by Iron Dome. Instead,
there was machine gun fire inside Gaza (not towards Israel), and Iron
Dome was launched as a result of “calibration problem”. [iv]
Experts
are unlikely to accept the explanation of “calibration problem”.
Not only did the incident involve the bizarre false identification
of machine gun fire as a missile barrage, it also involved the
purported miscalculation that the non-existent missiles were going to
hit Israeli populated areas. Due to its exorbitant cost, Iron Dome
is supposed to calculate the projectile’s target site, and launch
interceptors only if the missile is projected to hit a populated
area. To top it off – fake news of “successful intercept”
originated somewhere.
Further
back, during the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict, the evidence showed that
the Israeli government used false alarms and fake news of missile
attacks on the Tel-Aviv, coupled with fake Iron Dome “successful
intercepts”, for propaganda purposes. [v]
The purported missile attacks on Tel-Aviv were used to justify the
massive bombing of civilians in Gaza – resulting in killing over
2,000 Gazans, including around 500 children. Some parts of that
conflict are now the subject of ICC Hague investigations. [vi]
Iron
Dome is an anti-missile system developed by Israel with over USD 200
millions in direct US funding. Its performance record has been argued
over the years, with IDF claiming success rates in the 80-90%,
whereas others claim success rates of 5% or lower. [v]
LINKS
i 2019-03-15
Israel Hayom, print edition, on-line display
ii 2019-03-14
Two rockets fired towards
Tel-Aviv area; Iron Dome intercepts
were
not launched | News1
iii 2019-03-15
Shmuel Meir on Twitter
iv 2018-03-25
IDF: Iron Dome fires mistakenly in response to Hamas drill | Times
of Israel
v 2014-07-13
What part of the missile attacks on Tel Aviv is an Israeli hoax? |
OpEdNews.com
vi 2018-09-01
ICC to open full-blown investigation in settlements, 2014 Gaza war |
PNN