A report to the Knesset State Control Committee asserted that any
anti-rocket system would intercept no more than 80 percent of incoming
projectiles. The classified report said 20 percent of incoming rockets and
missiles would penetrate the system.
"The data raise questions regarding the efficiency of any system," an
official said.
On Wednesday, Palestinian gunners fired at least six Kassam-class
missiles toward the Israeli city of Sderot. There were no reports of
injuries in the attacks, in which Fatah claimed responsibility.
Officials said the Defense Ministry drafted scenarios that included
Hizbullah and Palestinian rocket and missile attacks from the south and
north. They said a key requirement of any missile defense system was that it
protect an area of 10 square kilometers.
The report said a kinetic interceptor would be more successful than
laser. The laser was said to be capable of protecting a smaller area than a
kinetic interceptor.
In February 2007, Rafael, Israel Armament Development Authority was
awarded the missile defense project with a comprehensive system designed to
protect against short-, medium- and long-range rockets. Rafael's Iron Dome
system was approved by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Amir
Peretz.
"This was the most successful alternative in terms of the solutions it
provides, the timetable for its development and costs," Olmert's office said
in a statement on Feb. 4. "It was clearly necessary to develop and deploy
this system, which along with other long- and intermediate-range defensive
systems, would provide residents of Israel with optimal protection against
missiles."
Still, former Rafael chief executive officer Zev Bonen said Iron Dome
would be limited in capability. Bonen said no anti-rocket system could
protect such cities as Sderot and Kiryat Shmona.
"The system that will be developed years from now will provide good,
rather than absolute, protection to the interior part of the country but not
the front, the focus of attacks and which the enemy seeks to exploit to
spark a flight," Bonen said.