JERUSALEM — Israel’s security cabinet on Wednesday met for the first time in a secret nuclear bunker in Jerusalem, officials and press reports said, as part of a massive nationwide defence exercise.
As air raid sirens cut through the air at 11:00 am (0800 GMT), the 14-member security cabinet was safely ensconced inside the underground bunker which is located somewhere in the hills around Jerusalem, Israel’s main newspapers and radio stations reported.
“The security cabinet met for a special session in the new national command centre in Jerusalem,” a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said, without giving further details.
Details of the recently-built facility were splashed across the tabloids on Wednesday, which said the “situation room” was kitted out with cutting-edge anti-missile defences and communications technology which could withstand both a conventional and a non-conventional attack.
Ministers in the security cabinet were only informed about the meeting on Tuesday and were ferried over there without aides or mobile phones, the top-selling Yediot Aharonot newspaper said.
Categories: Israel, Middle East