By Stan Goodenough
Nov 12, 2007
Israel-Syria tensions which had lulled somewhat after roller-coasting in the summer soared again last week amid fears Damascus would try strike Israel's nuclear reactor at Dimona in the Negev.
According to reports in Israel and the west, the protective missile shield around the Negev Nuclear Research Center went on red alert no less than 30 times between November 4 and 10, with a battery of US-built Patriot anti-missile systems deployed.
Dimona, said an unnamed IDF source according to the British Sunday Times, "tops Syria's list" of Israeli targets to aim for.
If it occurred, the attack could be seen as a tit-for-tat response to Israel's taking out of a Syrian nuclear plant on September 6.
However, unlike the surgical combined IAF and commando raid reportedly carried out on the still-under-construction Syrian site, a successful hit on Dimona would have catastrophic consequences for Israel.
The city of Dimona, which lies about 10 km north of the nuclear reactor, is the third largest Israeli population center in the Negev, with residents numbering around 33,000.