Israel sees Hizbullah targeting oil refineries near Haifa

Special to WorldTribune.com

TEL AVIV — Israel has deemed its oil refineries a key target of
the Iranian-sponsored Hizbullah.

Officials said Hizbullah could be expected to fire missiles and rockets toward
Israel’s oil refineries around the northern city of Haifa. They cited
Hizbullah rocket strikes near the refineries during the last war with Israel
in 2006.

Oil refineries are considered to be among the most sensitive sites in the Haifa Bay.

“This is vital to the continued functioning of Israel’s economy at times of crisis,” Home Front Defense Minister Matan Vilnai said.

On Dec. 6, Vilnai toured the refineries in the Haifa bay to examine the vulnerability of the facilities to a Hizbullah attack. The minister said the government was examining the feasibility of deploying the new Iron Dome missile defense system to ensure that Israel’s refineries keep operating even during a regional war.

“The refineries are crucial to the continued functioning of Israel’s
economy at times of emergency,” Vilnai said.

Israel has deployed two Iron Dome batteries with plans to launch operations of a third battery over the next few weeks. Officials said the Defense Ministry has drafted a requirement for at least 10 batteries to protect the country from missile and rocket attacks from Lebanon as well as the Gaza Strip.

In 2011, Israel conducted several major exercises in an effort to
counter attacks on cities as well as critical facilities. Officials said
unspecified systems have been installed in the oil refineries to prevent a
major chemical leak during war.

So far, authorities have decided that Israel’s oil refineries would
maintain operations during any crisis. They said oil refinery workers staged
an exercise meant to respond to a missile attack on their facilities.

The Air Force has not released figures on the success of Iron Dome. On
Dec. 11, the military reported an Iron Dome interception of a rocket fired
from the Gaza Strip two days earlier. The Iron Dome battery, meant to
protect the area of Ashdod, was said to have intercepted a Palestinian
rocket over the city of Kiryat Malachi.

“Since the recent IDF [Israel Defense Forces] operations in Gaza, we
have been on elevated alert, due to the high probability of the firing of
rockets at Israel,” Iron Dome battery commander Capt. Elad Tzinmon said. “We
are always ready for an attack from Gaza, but when the terrorist
organizations receive a heavy blow from the IDF, our preparedness increases,
as we know that they won’t sit quietly.”

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