Court: Israeli Defense Ministry rejected, stole from 2005 anti-tunnel proposal

Special to WorldTribune.com

TEL AVIV — Israel has acknowledged its rejection of a solution to Hamas tunnels from the Gaza Strip.

An Israeli court has determined that the military vetoed a project to develop a system to detect and locate Hamas tunnels. The Tel Aviv District Court ruled that the Defense Ministry and military later stole elements of the proposal by three Jerusalem entrepreneurs.

An Israeli soldier in a tunnel from Gaza.  /Jim Hollander/European Pressphoto Agency
An Israeli soldier in a tunnel from Gaza. /Jim Hollander/European Pressphoto Agency

“They violated the obligations imposed on pre-contract protocol and even more so when they are working on behalf of the state,” Justice Michal Agmon-Gonen said.

Officials acknowledged a Hamas tunnel threat more than a decade ago. They said the Defense Ministry oversaw a failed anti-tunnel project in 2005 in wake of Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

In 2001, entrepreneurs Doron Alter, Israel Alter and Moshe Rothschild briefed the military on an anti-tunnel prototype. Over the next two years, the three Jerusalem residents held presentations for then-Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Moshe Ya’alon, Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Doron Almog and Engineering Corps commander Col. Mordechai Almoz. In 2004, the proposal was relayed to then Defense Ministry director-general Amos Yaron.

“Although most professional entities in the army believed that this is a suitable solution, we were shuffled back and forth between the various defense [departments] for three years, when all the while they invested their energy and money into improving and upgrading the proposed solution, based on the needs presented to them by the defense establishment,” the plaintiffs said.

At one point, the Defense Ministry agreed to oversee development of the anti-tunnel system in the United States. The developmental stage, however, was suspended, prompting lawsuits in Israel and the United States. The suits were filed by Fabtech and Rahmani D.A.M. Earthworks.

In her ruling released on Aug. 10, Ms. Agmon-Cohen said the military and Defense Ministry worked against each other in considering the anti-tunnel system. The judge ordered the ministry to pay $50,000 in what was termed partial compensation and another $6,000 in legal fees.

“The defense establishment was obligated to clarify to the plaintiffs explicitly and clearly that it had not yet made a final decision to implement the solution proposed by the developers,” the judge said.

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