Israel’s Newest Rocket Defense System: Trees?
“When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by wielding an axe against them; for thou mayest eat of them, but thou shalt not cut them down; for is the tree of the field man, that it should be besieged of thee?” (Deuteronomy 20:19)
OC Southern Command, Maj. Gen. Tal Russo, plants the first trees of the Strategic Security Forestation Project together with the residents of the towns and villages surrounding the Gaza Strip, January 20, 2011. (Photo: IDF)
Israel is employing an environmentally-friendly security tactic against terrorists in the Gaza Strip: tree-planting. According to a report by Israel HaYom, dozens of workers are busy planting tall, dense trees alongside a new section of train tracks near the Gaza strip.
Back in May, video footage which contained detailed Palestinian surveillance of an Israeli passenger train was uncovered in Gaza by the IDF. The footage was shot from a mere few hundred meters away.
Security officials assessed the new train line, which will ultimately run from Ashkelon to Beer Sheba, and determined that several areas of the track are exposed to Gaza rocket fire. Train service was suspended on that part of the line during Operation Protective Shield and resumed following the ceasefire.
Currently, the new line runs as far as Sderot, where the station opened only last December was the first to be constructed specifically to withstand rocket fire. Additional stations are under construction in Netivot and Ofakim, which are also in rocket range.
The hundreds of trees are meant to conceal the tracks from prying eyes, all without harming the environment. This method is expected to be implemented elsewhere along the Gaza periphery as well.
Tree-planting is a long-standing tradition in Israel. In the early 20th century, trees were planted to stake a Jewish claim on land purchased through charitable collections.
According to the Jewish National Fund, which spearheaded the project then and continues to plant trees and protect the environment today, “Israel is one of only two countries in the world that entered the 21st century with a net gain in its number of trees.”
Read more at http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/21367/israels-newest-rocket-defense-system-trees/#wjxQLZyrxYpX01kJ.99
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