Former director of Israel's Missile Defense Organization, Uzi Ruben, said this week that the Terrorists had come up with an effective weapon against Israel – the Qassam Rocket. He gave credit to the terrorists for turning "simple things into deadly weapons".

Terrorist organizations continue to fire Qassam rockets at Israeli communities bordering the Gaza strip. Citizens are being forced from their homes, businesses are literally crumbling, and entire communities are being decimated.

Uzi Ruben, manager of the "Arrow" missile defense system from 1991 until 1999, said this week to the international press in Jerusalem that Israel does not yet have a way to stop the terrorists from firing Qassam rockets at Israeli communities. He suggested several effective methods Israel could employ in order to protect her citizens. His primary suggestion was for Israel to immediately begin a missile defense program that would eliminate the Qassam rocket in the air before it strikes Israel's cities.

The terrorists know that the Qassam rocket is an effective weapon against a technologically advanced enemy such as Israel. The Qassam is cheap and easy to make using readily available materials. The rockets can be carried and launched by a single terrorist. Generally the rockets are launched two or three at a time from the rooftop of a building in a densely populated city such as Gaza City. The terrorist can fire the rockets and flee the scene before Israel has a chance to retaliate. When Israel does retaliate they generally destroy a building filled with innocent civilians, thus bringing international condemnation on Israel and sympathy for the Arab community.

The Qassam also accomplishes the terrorist's desire of bringing fear and frustration to Israeli communities. The rockets cannot be precisely guided and no one can predict where they will land. The community simply hears the warning sirens and takes cover behind anything than can protect them from shrapnel. The rockets destroy buildings and automobiles and cause physical damage to anyone within 20 yards of the blast. The Israeli city of Sderot has been under constant attack for the past 6 months, and many of the citizens have left the area for safer communities.

The constant rocket attacks also make the Israeli government appear impotent to deal with the terrorists' threat. The Israeli leadership appears to be weak for not protecting citizens and the terrorists are local heroes in their own communities. What alternatives does the Israeli government have?

Uzi Ruben says that Israel should develop a small missile to intercept the Qassam rockets in flight. He says that Israel has the capability and technology to produce such defensive weapons, but that the military leadership has an aggressive outlook on terror and does not consider defensive weapons. He is optimistic that this mindset will change in the near future.

In a Jerusalem briefing this week, Uzi Ruben demonstrated several defensive weapons that are currently available. One system which he suggests is known as a Directional Energy Weapon (DEW) that uses chemical lasers to track and melt the incoming rocket in mid flight. This weapon could be deployed immediately to protect the southern Israeli communities such as Sderot.

As the former director of Israel's Missile Defense Organization, Uzi Ruben helped develop the "Arrow" missile defense system which tracks incoming ballistic missiles and destroys them in mid air. He says that Israel could develop the same concept for the smaller Qassam rockets. His final recommendation was to immediately deploy a "DEW" system on the Gaza border and begin an accelerated weapons program to develop a missile capable of intercepting and destroying the incoming Qassam rockets.

Audio File	MP3
Simple Things, Deadly Weapons