Arrows 'give Israel edge over Iran and Syria'

Occupied Jerusalem: Israel's latest test of its Arrow missile defence system proves Israel has a jump on its fiercest enemies, Iran and Syria, a leading member of parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee said yesterday.

"The test yesterday was exceptional," lawmaker Yuval Steinitz, a former head of the powerful panel, said. "It proved it [the Arrow] can bring down any kind of ballistic missile, a capability no power in the world possesses.

"Even if Iran or Syria were to develop more sophisticated missiles than they now have, Israel is one step ahead," Steinitz added.

On Sunday night, the military conducted Arrow's first nighttime trial, in which the system intercepted and destroyed a missile launched higher and farther than ever before, a senior military official said yesterday. It was the missile's 15th test-firing; all but one have been successful.

The Arrow, he added, "shields most of Israel."