State: Sonic booms confuse terrorists
Responding to High Court petition by Physicians Without Borders, State says sonic booms a necessary anti-terror tool
The State has launched a vigorous defense of Air Force sonic booms over the skies of Gaza, saying the tactic constitutes a non-lethal means to combat Palestinian terrorists preparing to fire Qassam rockets and mortars into Israel.
"The sonic booms created by the IDF in its flights above Gaza are operational necessities that can't be given up," the State argued, responding to the High Court position by Physicians Without Borders and a Gaza based mental welfare organization, in which they claimed the loud sounds seriously harm the civilian population and children in Gaza.
The High Court will convene to discuss the petition on Tuesday.
The petition includes an opinion submitted by Gaza's chief psychiatrist, Iyad Saraj, who claims children are panicked by the sonic booms and suffer from nightmares and bodily harm. In addition, Saraj claims Gaza children are suffering from headaches and fatigue and are living in a state of constant fear, because they don't differentiate between the sounds of missiles and the sonic bombs caused by Air Force jets.
The petition charges booms can usually be heard during school hours, making the damage more severe.
'Tool to disrupt terror'
Responding to the petition, State Prosecutor's Office attorneyYuval Roitman said: "The military activity to end and disrupt the firing of Qassam rockets and mortar shells at Israel is conducted through a variety of means. Flying over an area used to fire on Israel is one of the means available to IDF forces in dealing with attacks on Israel."
"This tool can disrupt terror attacks by creating fear among terrorists planning to fire rockets or mortars," Roitman said.
"In addition, this tool aims to create deception, to spread disinformation, and to create confusion among the terrorists...it creates a sense of danger and a sense of being followed among terrorists, in a way that disrupts their operational ability," he added. "By using this tool, which is non-lethal, the IDF can act against those who fire rockets and mortar shells at Israel without endangering life in the Gaza Strip".
The State noted sonic bombs have been used in the past during operations in Lebanon and Syria, and added that foreign militaries also use the tactic.
"Using this tool leads to a decrease in the use of power and live fire in order to stop rocket fire, and minimizes the scope of danger to life in the Gaza Strip," said the State in its reply. "It also prevents the need to send ground forces into Gaza."
