Introducing the palestinian terrorists’ latest weapon: Google.
Palestinian militants are using Google Earth to help plan their attacks on the Israeli military and other targets, the Guardian has learned.
Members of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, a group aligned with the Fatah political party, say they use the popular internet mapping tool to help determine their targets for rocket strikes.
“We obtain the details from Google Earth and check them against our maps of the city centre and sensitive areas,” Khaled Jaabari, the group’s commander in Gaza who is known as Abu Walid, told the Guardian.
Abu Walid showed the Guardian an aerial image of the Israeli town of Sderot on his computer to demonstrate how his group searches for targets.
The Guardian filmed an al-Aqsa test rocket launch, fired into an uninhabited area of the Negev desert, last month. Despite the crudeness of the weapons, many have landed in Sderot, killing around a dozen people in the last three years and wounding scores more.
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Abu Walid insists there is no contradiction between his group’s actions and talk of peace by Mahmoud Abbas, Fatah’s leader.
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When asked about the use of Google Earth by al-Aqsa militants, Google said it was aware of potential problems, but would not comment specifically on the case. “We have paid close attention to concerns that Google Earth creates new security risks,” said the company in a statement. “The imagery visible on Google Earth and Google Maps is not unique: commercial high-resolution satellite and aerial imagery of every country in the world is widely available from numerous sources. Indeed, anyone who flies above or drives by a piece of property can obtain similar information.”
The company would not confirm whether it had received requests from the Israeli government to block certain images or areas inside Google Earth, but said it was committed to working with officials to take public safety into account.
“Google has engaged, and will continue to engage, in substantive dialogue with recognised security experts and relevant agencies worldwide,” it said.
I’m hoping that this is not just Google paying lip service. Especially if they’re serious about commandment #6.
