Nov. 21, Israel and Hamas agreed to a cease fire, effectively ending the eight days of back-and-forth strikes between them. The cease fire is a crucial step towards diffusing what was an imminent conflict in an area filled with more tension than any of us here in the United States can imagine. While Hillary Clinton and Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr may have brokered the end of rocket fire it was the Israeli Military’s “Iron Dome” missile shield system that has been the real hero in these troubling days.
According to CNN, during a three-day span in which 737 rockets were fired into Israel, the Iron Dome system destroyed 245 before they were able to make contact with their intended targets. This Israeli-made system, which was initially deployed in March 2011, intercepts short-range rockets fired upon Israel from areas of close proximity such as Gaza.
The invaluable aspect to this system is its ability to strike down rockets directed towards major Israeli population centers. The rocket fire that preceded the Gaza War in late 2008 and early 2009 by Hamas did not have the capability to reach the urban areas of Israel such as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. However, Hamas now has weapons that could cause mass casualties to Israeli citizens after Iran has supplied them with more powerful rockets.
Of the rockets sent to cause destruction in these urban areas, all were either shot down or landed in locations that did not cause mass casualties. These rockets did cause air-raid sirens to go off constantly in Tel Aviv and forced Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take cover in bomb shelters. This brings us back to the invaluable nature the Iron Dome system had in the process of making this cease fire possible.
Israel moved thousands of troops to the border of Gaza waiting for the order to invade, but the situation could not afford any more incentive for Israel to move into Gaza. In the conflict four years ago, Israel deployed troops into Gaza, causing casualties on both sides in response to constant rocket fire into southern Israel. Had there been an absence of the Iron Dome this time, the increased casualties from Hamas’ rockets hitting the urban areas of Israel would have undoubtedly led to another invasion of Gaza, something neither side wants.
As the technology of the Iron Dome system becomes even more advanced, the decisive role it can play in the process towards attaining peace in this region cannot be understated. Imagine, instead of only some rockets being shot down, a majority being stopped from reaching their intended target. If Hamas realized that despite having new and more powerful rockets, their weapons would be neutralized by the Iron Dome system, how this might deter them from sending the constant barrage of rockets they have been shooting non-stop at Israel.
Seeing as both of the last two conflicts between Israel and Hamas-controlled Gaza have started because of Hamas’ unrelenting rocket fire towards Israeli citizens, the diminishing threat of rockets could only be beneficial towards the process of peace. While diplomats had a role in avoiding a larger conflict this time, it is the Iron Dome system that will be of vital importance to the peace process for the foreseeable future.
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