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Last update - 14:18 25/10/2007
Report: Militants using Google Earth to pick targets in Israel
By Haaretz Service
Tags: Qassam, Google Earth, Gaza 

Militant Palestinian groups who have been launching rockets into the western Negev from the Gaza Strip have been using Google's popular satellite imagery program "Google Earth" to reconnoiter areas in Israel to be targeted for attack, according to a report in the British daily The Guardian.

A leading figure in the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades told the paper that his organization scans military and civilian sites, including the town of Sderot, through Google Earth.

"We obtain the details from Google Earth and check them against our maps of the city center and sensitive areas," the Al-Aqsa commander in Gaza, Khaled Jaabari, told the Guardian. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades is the military wing of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah faction.
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Jaabari, who is also known by his nom de guerre Abu Walid, also told the paper that the Palestinians have succeeded in improving the range of the Qassam rocket through the cultivation of sea salt.

The Palestinians are not the first to employ Google Earth for military gains. According to the report, British authorities expressed concerns that Iraqi insurgents were using aerial images from Google Earth to target British bases near the southern Iraqi town of Basra.

When queried about the use of Google Earth by militants, Google issued a statement saying "we have paid close attention to concerns that Google Earth creates new security risks. 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."

"Google has engaged, and will continue to engage, in substantive dialogue with recognized security experts and relevant agencies worldwide," continued the statement, which was released to The Guardian
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  1.   Our virtual world.... 11:09  |  Esther 25/10/07
  2.   Google is not the Problem 11:29  |  Steve 25/10/07
  3.   Time to cut the chord 11:29  |  Rabbi Izzy Lahm 25/10/07
  4.   #2 Rabbi Izzy Lahm - It works both ways 11:44  |  Yonatan 25/10/07
  5.   Israel has the rich mans system, Hamas, the poor mans system 12:00  |  Natallie Durson 25/10/07
  6.   AQSA take responsibility deliberately targetting civillians. 12:20  |  PETER S.M. 25/10/07
  7.   Lawsuit Against Google! 12:30  |  JM 25/10/07
  8.   Fatah _ Olmerts partner for peace! 12:44  |  eddie 25/10/07
  9.   Google 12:48  |  Kim Eisler 25/10/07
  10.   Iran 12:56  |  Clickfool 25/10/07
  11.   "Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists." GWBush 13:03  |  Lemmings Hotline 25/10/07
  12.   Go Natallie @ 5 13:06  |  David 25/10/07
  13.   Natallie 13:10  |  What a doofus she is 25/10/07
  14.   Too much info 13:12  |  D 25/10/07
  15.   Rockets and Terror Attacks 13:36  |  ralphsrant1 25/10/07
  16.   #10 Clickfool 13:36  |  Conroy 25/10/07
  17.   Anything for money 13:41  |  Danite 25/10/07
  18.   Sad 13:42  |  Tom 25/10/07
  19.   Hoisted with their own petard! In this struggle between David & 14:07  |  lakshmi 25/10/07
  20.   No Israeli Supplied Internet for Gaza 14:15  |  Rustam 25/10/07
  21.   Natalie, Cfool, Danite 14:18  |  rodgerman 25/10/07
  22.   About the Golan Heights 14:21  |  LisaV 25/10/07
  23.   THIS IS AN AMAZING DEVELOPMENT 14:34  |  indrajaya 25/10/07
  24.   Clickfool, Lakshmi 14:46  |  Honest Observation 25/10/07
  25.   More nonsense from Clickfool 14:46  |  Stan 25/10/07
  26.   Indrajaya`s child-like comment 15:35  |  Stan 25/10/07
  27.   For Honest Observer 15:36  |  Linda 25/10/07
  28.   Sensitive Locations 15:48  |  Phil 25/10/07
  29.   Linda # 27 16:13  |  Honest Observation 25/10/07
  30.   Who said that the Palis are silly.? they ain`t 16:19  |  Garry L 25/10/07
  31.   to Linda 16:35  |  Sol 25/10/07
  32.   #7 JM. Common Man, COMPENSATION is a way of making $$$. 16:37  |  Holmes 25/10/07
  33.   Google Policy 17:28  |  Daniel 25/10/07
  34.   Internet in Gaza 17:40  |  B 25/10/07
  35.   # 7 JM 17:40  |  Axel 25/10/07
  36.   Googly Gaza 17:41  |  Scoobidoo 25/10/07
  37.   # 7 JM next step 17:43  |  Axel 25/10/07
  38.   For Honest Observation # 24 17:43  |  Clickfool 25/10/07
  39.   For Stan # 25 17:45  |  Clickfool 25/10/07
  40.   Simplistic Sol # 31 17:48  |  Clickfool 25/10/07
  41.   How about a site that publishes personal info of Google officers 18:04  |  McQueen 25/10/07
  42.   Cut off the electricity - no Google for you terrorists! 18:06  |  Maya 25/10/07
  43.   #40 Clickfool 18:20  |  Sol 25/10/07
  44.   It`s laughable. 18:25  |  Deborah 25/10/07
  45.   Ooooh Clickfool, you devil! 18:27  |  Stan 25/10/07
  46.   # 42 maya 18:30  |  Axel 25/10/07
  47.   For JM #7 19:03  |  Esther 25/10/07
  48.   For JM #7. Just wondering...... 19:10  |  Esther 25/10/07
  49.   Thank G-d they don`t use Michellines Road Maps. 19:18  |  Bibi Sweinsti 25/10/07
  50.   Poor HAMAS? To Natalie #5-They can afford 19:33  |  KLOMP 25/10/07
  51.   "Mikitants?" 19:33  |  JordanisPalestine 25/10/07
  52.   #46 Axel Diesel 20:12  |  Maya 25/10/07
  53.   Googlr earth 20:27  |  john 25/10/07
  54.   Clickfool you bloody idiot 20:29  |  Phil 25/10/07
  55.   Google Earth, it works both ways guys... 21:28  |  Jacob Blues 25/10/07
  56.   what more can u expect except rockets? 23:28  |  Albert Pinto 25/10/07
  57.   Culture and the lack of same 23:36  |  Paul Henzen 25/10/07
  58.   Google earth 00:11  |  Philippe 26/10/07
  59.   Israel uses Arab traitors to help with targetting the terrorists. 00:55  |  PETER S.M. 26/10/07
  60.   General Dan Fox 01:38  |  Fort Benning 26/10/07
  61.   Abu Walid will become ashes in a smoking car. 02:03  |  Fortuna Benmayor 26/10/07
  62.   amazingly newspapers have found google earth 04:27  |  P.Inpointe 26/10/07
  63.   Israel will pretend to believe this load of rubbish, no doubt... 05:41  |  Silvienne 26/10/07
  64.   #56, What excellent taste Fortuna has! 05:43  |  Silvienne 26/10/07
  65.   #29, "Honest Observer", Linda really called you on that one... 05:48  |  Silvienne 26/10/07
  66.   #38, Clickfool... 05:50  |  Silvienne 26/10/07
  67.   #43, Sol... 05:52  |  Silvienne 26/10/07
  68.   #27 Linda Starving and destroying Gaza? 12:36  |  Petra 26/10/07
  69.   #61 EXCELLENT POST 12:38  |  Petra 26/10/07
  70.   #68, #69, Petra... 22:48  |  Silvienne 26/10/07
  71.   It`s the human intel that is imprortant 15:01  |  B`Galil 14/01/08
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