Tens of Millions Invested, Yet the Pit Won’t Hold Up to Hizbullah Missiles

Tel Aviv’s Buildings Vs. Every Building in Beirut Southern Suburb

Ynet

Last weekend, Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah threatened once again to attack specific targets in Tel Aviv. One of the most sensitive targets is the army command headquarters at the Kirya base, especially the underground command center.

But plans for the construction of the new command pit, for which tens of millions of shekels have already been invested, have been halted due to concerns that it would collapse if hit by a missile, Yedioth Ahronoth revealed on Sunday.

Reporter Yossi Yehoshua wrote that the new pit, that was built rapidly, was supposed to be much larger than the old one in the Kirya base that goes back to the 70's. Now, the army decided to halt construction work in light of a resolved opinion offered by a civilian company according to which the "pit" would not hold up to a major and accurate missile barrage.

It's worth noting that the army has invested tens of millions of shekels in the construction of the site and a major additional sum was set to be invested in the future. Yet now, the project has been completely stopped.

According to Deputy chief of Staff Yair Nave, it was supposed to present the findings before the Defense Ministry director general in order to attempt to find a solution. Senior ministry officials said that this was a case of relentless negligence. Meanwhile, they are seeking a second opinion.

The army Spokesman said in response: "Naturally we can't give any details with regards to this or any other operational preparation."
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Money thrown into the pit, "the army will explain"

Ynet - Moran Azoulay

The "pit" case reaches the Knesset. After announcing the plan of building a new "pit" in Kirya, which tens of millions of shekels were invested in, the construction was halted due to concerns that it would collapse if hit by a missile. Some Knesset members said that they will require holding a hearing session at the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

Reporter Yossi Yehoshua revealed this case on Sunday in Yedioth Ahronot. Following the publication, MK Miri Regev (Likud) and Yohanan Plesner (Kadima) said that will be asking to hold a meeting to check the procedure taken to approve on the transfer of funds to this expensive project. According to them, there should be an investigation to know how millions of shekels are lost.

"Actually, and before the budget discussions, we should look into the approval mechanism of this project and those behind it," said MK Regev. "How did that happen in the army, who himself approves on protected civilian places, but didn't succeed in approving on a very sensitive structure. The issue is beyond disturbing, it is also a dangerous discovery. Such an operation needed more planning, where all the attributes of this type of construction should have been taken into account - not to mention that the budget spent is so high. Army officials have to come to the committee and give explanations. "

MK Moshe Matalon ("Israel" Beiteinu), also a committee member, added: "I definitely think there is room for foreign affairs and security committee to hear what happened there. Who knows if this is the first case? This may be the first published case and others we do not know them." He added that "something has to change in the behavior of the army. If there are things that the army need to fix, it probably should be discussed when the poject is so expensive. "

MK Plesner, also a committee member, announced that he shall submit a request to the Knesset President to hasten the debate on the subject. "Serious questions arise from the publication," he said, "especially around the decision making process, project approval and allocation of resources. I intend to demand explanations from representatives of the security system and understand what are the implications of stopping the project and what alternatives there are now since it has stopped. "
To date, the army invested tens of millions of shekels to build the complex, and another large sum might have been invested in the future, but now the project will stop. Moreover, Deputy Chief of Staff, Maj. Gen. Yair Naveh, will present the findings to the Director General Ministry of Defense , to try and find a solution. Senior ministry officials said that this was a case of relentless negligence. Meanwhile, they are seeking a second opinion.

Source: Hebrew Press, translated and edited by moqawama.org

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