Kibbutz sues state over land grab, claims Iron Dome radiation hidden from them
Farmers say army appropriated property for missile defense system without compensation, didn’t reveal dangerous emissions from batteries; but no claim sought over any health damage
A kibbutz in the south of Israel has filed a lawsuit against the defense establishment after land was appropriated for an Iron Dome missile defense battery, while alleging that farmers were unknowingly exposed to very strong radiation for almost six years.
The lawsuit states that the Israel Defense Forces installed the system on fields belonging to an unnamed kibbutz in 2012 but it was only in September 2017 that residents were informed of the high levels of radiation emitted by the batteries, the Ynet news site reported Monday.
The kibbutz claims it was unable to farm a portion of its land but was never offered any compensation, and that the radiation caused damage to agricultural systems, leading to its claim for NIS 4.5 million (approximately $1.3 million).
The kibbutz did not appear to be making a claim regarding any possible health damage caused by the radiation.
“The lawsuit has not yet been received by the defense establishment. When it is, it will be examined and answered as usual in court,” the IDF and Defense Ministry said in a statement to Ynet.
In the past decade, the Iron Dome has been used extensively, especially along Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip, to counter the threat of rockets and, in recent years, mortar shells, as well as small drones.
Funded in part by the US government under the administration of former US president Barack Obama, the system completed its first real-world interception test on January 6, 2010, and was declared operational a year later.
Since then, it has performed over 2,400 successful interceptions, the Defense Ministry said in January. The system is estimated to have a success rate of over 85 percent.
