News

Palestinians hold a protest in
the West Bank city of Ramallah against direct talks with Israel, on
Tuesday. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Monday he might end
an impasse in peace talks with Israel and resume direct talks with the
Jewish State for the first time in almost two years. (Reuters)

By REUTERS

Published: Aug 10, 2010 21:53
Updated: Aug 10, 2010 22:25

TEL AVIV: Israel’s most populated area, Tel Aviv,
will be hit by rockets in any future war, a senior official said on
Tuesday in rare remarks reflecting the limitations of US-sponsored
defenses.

“In any future conflict, missiles will
fall in the center of the country, and the sooner we prepare in advance,
the more lives we will save,” a statement quoted Israeli Deputy Defense
Minister Matan Vilnai as saying during a tour of emergency facilities
in Herzliya, just up the coast from Tel Aviv.

Eyeing longtime foes
Iran and Syria and their allies Hezbollah and Hamas in neighboring
Lebanon and Gaza, Israel has accelerated the development of missile
interceptors with help from Washington.

Israeli officials readily
caution that such defenses are not impenetrable, but public declarations
on the vulnerability of Tel Aviv -— the country’s densest conurbation
and its commercial, military... >>>