Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced on Tuesday that Israel is launching a new laser system to serve as a wall of defense against rockets, missiles, and other threats. Israeli Defense officials initially predicted that the laser technology will not be operational until at least 2025. But the Prime Minister's announcement proves that they have effectively sped up the development of new laser technology.
"In about a year, the IDF will launch a laser interception system. At first experimentally and later it will become operational," Bennett said during a speech at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) conference, CBN News reported. "First in the south and then elsewhere."
"This will allow us, in the medium to long term, to surround Israel with a laser wall that protects us from missiles, rockets, UAVs, and other threats," Israel's Prime Minister explained. "In fact, it will take away the strongest card the enemy has against us."
Bennett also suggested that the new laser technology may replace the Iron Dome missile defense system, which Israel used to intercept rockets during last year's attacks from Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip. Israel's Prime Minister said that while the Iron Dome interceptor costs "tens of thousands of dollars," the laser technology costs way less and can also stop missiles. He hopes to export this laser technology as well.
Bennet explained that the "new generation of Israeli air defense" could also help protect their "friends in the region who are also exposed to severe threats from Iran and its proxies." The Prime Minister added that it was another way to "create assets, use them and give what we have to the world in order to gain support, create alliances and become even stronger."
The Israeli Prime Minister's announcements came just days after the Houthi rebels in Yemen, who are backed by Iran, launched a missile attack that targeted the United Arab Emirates. Al Jazeera reported that the U.S. military even launched interceptor missiles in response to their attack, which was the third in just two weeks following the incidents on January 17 and January 24.
President Joe Biden this week reiterated its commitment to support the UAE during Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani's visit, saying, "America will have the backs of our friends in the region."
After the recent intensification of Houthi attacks against the UAE, the Saudi-led coalition fired back with air raids, specifically in the capital of Sanaa in Yemen, which caused dozens of civilian casualties and the destruction of infrastructure and services. A United Nations report said this week that almost 2,000 children who were recruited by the Houthis have perished fighting the country's war.
During the conference, Bennett cited the nuclear negotiations between world powers and Iran, which are taking place in Vienna. He expressed hope that "they conclude without an agreement." The Israeli Prime Minister warned, "The Israeli strategy remains the same in the case of an agreement, which in any case only buys a very short amount of time until the sunset clause, or in the event that there is no agreement. In both cases, our campaign continues."
