IDF sued for 'very strong' radiation exposure from Iron Dome facility
Five years after the Iron Dome battery was installed, kibbutz residents were told by the IDF not to approach the area surrounding the facility, due to strong radiation emitted by the battery.
By TOBIAS SIEGALIsraeli bride Shiklar poses for a wedding photo in front of an Iron Dome rocket launcher near Netivot(photo credit: REUTERS/AMIR COHEN)
A kibbutz in Israel's northern Negev has filed a lawsuit against the IDF, claiming that its residents were exposed to dangerous levels of radiation from a nearby Iron Dome facility and were only made aware of the fact five years later, according to Ynet. The lawsuit depicts how the Iron Dome missile defense battery was installed by the IDF in early 2012 "for the purpose of installing missile defense systems to protect from ballistics coming from the Gaza Strip," on an area of 2.5 acres that consists of fields owned by the kibbutz. The entire process of placing the facility and constructing the required infrastructure was done without any regulations and with no compensation offered to the kibbutz, according to the lawsuit."For the purpose of establishing a military base and laying the systems, the defendant performed groundwork and infrastructure work that included displacing water sources and crops," the lawsuit reads.In 2017, approximately five years after the Iron Dome battery was installed, the IDF told kibbutz residents not to approach the area surrounding the facility, due to the strong radiation the battery emitted.It should be emphasized that the area in question, which was marked as a no-entry zone, had been used by residents of the kibbutz for agricultural purposes."The defendant only recently remembered to update the kibbutz about the very strong radiation the systems emits, and that it is therefore strictly forbidden to engage in any agriculture work in the surrounding area," the lawsuit states. "It will become clear that danger of radiation in the field was unknown until the defendant's notice." Residents of the kibbutz further claim in the lawsuit that the Defense Ministry promised compensation for damages done by the process of installing the battery, but eight years later, the kibbutz has yet to be paid.The kibbutz also claims that the strong radiation damaged and disrupted the operation of several agricultural systems in the surrounding area, causing approximately NIS 4.5 million in damages.The Defense Ministry told Ynet that it has not yet received the lawsuit, but that when it does, "it will be studied and answered in court."
