Obama's Israel Trip Said to Include a Look at the Iron Dome
Some details have leaked about the President's big spring trip to Israel, including a planned dinner with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a stop so the President can check out Israel's rocket intercepting Iron Dome. Ynet News' Itamar Eichner reports that Obama would land in Israel on March 20, followed by two days of ceremonies and speeches, plus a meeting with Mahmoud Abbas in there. Politico reports that the White House has yet to sign off on Israel's proposed schedule, but if it holds, the President will accompany Netanyahu to look at a battery for Israel's big-time defense system on the last day of his trip.
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The Iron Dome made headlines at two different points in 2012 — both during conflicts between Israel and Palestine. As CNN reported last April, the system "targets incoming rockets it identifies as possible threats to city centers and fires an interceptor missile to destroy them in mid-air." After November's conflict with Gaza, the Wall Street Journal reported the system "knocked down 421 rockets launched from Gaza and bound for Israeli cities, an 84% success rate." This video from November caught the Iron Dome's interceptor's in action:
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