Israeli media revealed that former US President Donald Trump's decision to ease restrictions on satellite activities allowed them for the first time to publish high-resolution images of Israel's military facilities, including the Dimona nuclear reactor, in the southern part of occupied Palestine.
According to the "Yedioth Ahronoth", an Israeli daily newspaper, the change in the policy of online map services came after former US President Donald Trump ordered the lifting of restrictions on US-owned satellite imaging.
In its report, the newspaper published 7 high-resolution images of the Dimona nuclear reactor from several angles, in addition to military and air bases.
The Israeli daily added that the order came into effect last summer, and the restrictions imposed on it by Israel to protect its military bases were abolished.
It explained that the "Google Earth" network, as of Thursday, began displaying images of the nuclear reactor in "Dimona", with an option to change the dimensions to improve the image accuracy and view the reactor closely.
Ahronoth pointed out that the US "Mapbox" website, which used to show the Israeli nuclear and military facilities as vague points, now displays them with a resolution of 4.0, twice the resolution of 2.0 that was previously allowed.
It indicated that, in addition to the "Dimona" reactor, the photos revealed major airbases where Israeli Air Force fighters and helicopters appear with high accuracy.
The newspaper quoted the head of the space program in the Israeli Ministry of Defense, Amnon Harari, as saying that he does not believe that Israel was consulted in advance before the entry into force of the US federal order; which led to the disclosure of its military bases and nuclear facilities in high-resolution images and focus.
He added that he preferred that satellite images of Israel be as blurred and unclear as possible.
According to the newspaper, Israel is very concerned that hostile parties such as Hezbollah and Hamas will be able to use the photos to prepare for attacks against these sites.
It is reported that in 1997, the Kyle Bingaman Act, which prohibits the collection and distribution of high-resolution satellite images of the State of Israel and the territories it occupies, except with the approval of a US federal authority is the reason for the lack of clarity in satellite images of sites and facilities in Israel.
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