Israel suffers missile attack from Syria

Alarm bells went off early this morning at Israel's Dimona nuclear power plant in the Negev desert. The reason was a missile attack from Syrian territory. One of the missiles hit the village of Abu Qrenat, close to the plant. However, there were no injuries or damage to the facility. “A surface-to-air missile was fired from Syria to Israel's southern Negev”, the Israel Defense Forces tweeted. “In response, we struck the battery from which the missile was launched and additional surface-to-air batteries in Syria”. According to the Syrian news agency, Sana, the Israeli strike was carried out from a position in the Golan Heights and hit near Damascus. Sana also reported that the Syrian army intercepted and shot down most of the missiles. Israel launched the strike against an area harbouring weapons of pro-Iranian militias.

Iran is funding groups in Syria, which Israel sees as a major threat to its territory. For this reason, the Hebrew army has launched multiple attacks against Syrian positions in places where these militias are located. One of Israel's main objectives is to prevent Iran from increasing its influence in Syria by taking advantage of the dismemberment of the country caused by the war. Its domestic politics are also of concern to Israel. Iran is heavily developing its nuclear programme, something that has been viewed with suspicion from Jerusalem. After Tehran announced that it had begun enriching uranium to 60 per cent, the Israeli government said it would "do whatever it takes" to ensure that Iran does not acquire nuclear weapons. Israel was also one of the countries that welcomed the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal, a decision made by Donald Trump, Netanyahu's main ally.

This attack could be a response to the incident at Iran's Natanz nuclear power plant. Tehran insinuated that Israel was responsible for this "sabotage", in addition to others that have occurred at Iran's nuclear facilities. Iranian President Hassan Rohani openly accused Israel of assassinating the father of Iran's nuclear programme, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. On Saturday, the Iranian newspaper Kayhan published an opinion piece suggesting that the Dimona power plant would be attacked after the Natanz attack: Action should be taken “against the nuclear facility in Dimona”, said Sadollah Zarei, who cited the idea of “an eye for an eye” in his remarks. Earlier, he had called for attacking the coastal city of Haifa in response to the assassination of the scientist Fakhrizadeh. 

Although Israel has never disclosed its atomic arsenal, experts estimate that the country possesses between 100 and 300 nuclear warheads. However, the Hebrew state has never joined the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Dimona would be the centrepiece of this secret nuclear programme, which began to be built in the 1950s with the help of France and behind the back of the United States, the country's main ally. Satellite photos taken by The Associated Press in February show that the facility is being expanded. The plant houses underground laboratories for obtaining plutonium. “What the Israeli government is doing at this secret nuclear weapons plant is something for the Israeli government to come clean about”, said Daryl G. Kimball, executive director of the Washington-based Arms Control Association.