Qassam problem subject to budget constraints, IDF says
Defense officials explain failures mentioned by state comptroller in dealing with rocket threat from Gaza have been answered since report was written. 'If we had the suitable means, things would be different,' Defense Minister Peretz says
In his report, State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss focused on the IDF's flaws in handling the rocket threat from the Gaza Strip and stated that almost nothing had been done to prevent terrorists in Gaza from using underground tunnels.
They admitted, however, that there were cases of delays in implementation, which derived from budgetary problems and the fact that technological solutions required a long period of time until they developed fully into military abilities.
Defense Minister Amir Peretz also implied that if the defense establishment had received additional funds, a solution for the problem would have been found sooner.
"If Israel had the suitable means for dealing with the rocket threat, things would definitely be completely different," the minister said, adding that he had appointed a team to examine the problem even before the publication of the report.
In the report, the comptroller stated that the IDF had not consolidated a complete work plan to deal with the Qassam threat in full, despite that fact that by the end of 2006, 1,914 Qassams had been fired into Israel.
'A suitable answer to tunnel threat'
According to the report, the Israel Defense Force did not have the operational ability to intercept ground-to-ground rockets, including Qassams, until December 2005, neither did it express demand for a short-range rocket interception system. The report also showed flaws in the IDF staff's performance.
Regarding the tunnel issue, defense establishment officials said that a number of solutions had been examined over the past few years, some of which were found to be operationally unsuitable.
A senior officer noted that this was a new type of threat which the world had yet to deal with, and that the IDF was forced to deal with it while fighting.
He added that the defense establishment was in the midst of deploying a new system in the Gaza Strip at the cost of NIS 30 million (about $7.57 million), and that the process would be completed within a year and a half.
He noted that the army could not guarantee 100 percent success, but that the system would definitely provide a suitable answer to the tunnel threat.
