Situated in a high conflict region, Israel possesses advanced conventional military forces, including offensive and defensive missile capabilities. Israel is widely understood to possess nuclear weapons. Unconfirmed allegations, mostly by neighboring states, suggest that Israel may possess chemical and/or biological weapons.
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Israel is widely understood to possess a sizeable nuclear arsenal, but it maintains a policy of nuclear ambiguity. David Ben Gurion, Israel's first prime minister, clandestinely established the program in the late 1950s with French assistance, to meet what Israel viewed as an existential threat from Iran and the Arab states. The program is allegedly centered at the Negev Nuclear Research Center, outside the town of Dimona. Based on estimates of the plutonium production capacity of the Dimona reactor, Israel has approximately 100-200 advanced nuclear explosive devices. Officially, Israel has declared that it will not be the first to introduce nuclear weapons into the Middle East, but it remains a non-signatory to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). Israel's presumed possession of nuclear weapons has led to an impasse in Middle East arms control negotiations, as Israeli officials assert that comprehensive peace in the region is a precondition to Israeli participation in a Middle East Weapon-of-Mass-Destruction-Free Zone.
 See Israel Nuclear Profile
Israel's neighboring states allege that Israel has an offensive biological weapons (BW) program, but there are no reliable sources on specific biological agents the Israelis may possess. Some Arab sources claim that Israeli specialized military units sabotaged water wells with typhoid and dysentery bacteria in Acre (near Haifa), Palestine during the 1948 war, but these allegations have never been substantiated. Speculation that the program is located at the Israel Institute of Biological Research (IIBR) in Ness Ziona has raised both international and domestic concerns. Activists within the Israeli community have recently protested the expansion of the Institute due to reports, denied by Israeli officials, of multiple injuries and deaths within the facility and one near-evacuation of the surrounding area. Israel is not a signatory to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BWC). In 2001, Israel's foreign and defense ministries reassessed policy with regard to the BWC, but no change in approach has yet been made public.
See Israel Biological Profile
While there are allegations that Israel has an advanced chemical weapons (CW) program, no confirmed evidence of production or stockpiling exists. Some reports have suggested an offensive CW program is located at the Israel Institute for Biological Research in Nes Ziona. In October 1992, an El Al airliner carrying a cargo of approximately 50 gallons of dimethyl methylphosphonate (a widely used simulant for defensive research but also a possible precursor of sarin nerve agent) destined for the Institute crashed in Amsterdam. Israel stated that this material was being imported to test gas masks. Israel has signed but not ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
See Israel Chemical Profile
Israel's missile program began in the 1960s, and it has developed ballistic and cruise missiles, missile defense systems and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The Jericho ballistic missile series was initiated in the 1960s with French assistance, beginning with the 500km short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) Jericho-1. In the 1970s, Israel developed the intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) Jericho-2, a two-stage, solid-fueled missile with a range of 1,500km. Purportedly, Israel is also developing an extended version of its Jericho-2 missile, dubbed Jericho-3 with a range between 4000 and 6500km. Aside from offensive missile systems, Israel is developing a three-layered missile defense, with a system designed to address threats with ranges of 40km (Iron Dome), between 40 and 200km (David’s Sling), and above 200km (Arrow). The Arrow missile defense system, already operational, will complement this proposed architecture. Israel also has the Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-2) missile defense system, which defends against lower altitude targets. Additionally, the United States deployed the X-Band radar system on Israeli soil in October 2008 to counter targets up to approximately 2,900 miles away. This will bring Israel into the U.S. missile shield. Israel also possesses a space launch program based on the Shavit. While Israel is not a member of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), it abides by its guidelines.
See Israel Missile Profile
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Updated January 2010 |
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