Detailed pictures of sites such as Israel’s only nuclear reactor and classified military bases can be bought legally from several companies
Israel has ignored for years the growing problem of the easy availability of highly detailed satellite imaging of its most sensitive above-ground sites, Ynet reported Wednesday.
Pictures accurate to within 0.4 meters have been legally available from such American commercial enterprises as Google and Apple Maps since 2021, but they were already on the market from non-American companies such as South Korea’s Kompsat for several years before that.
A 1997 law called the Kyl-Bingaman Amendment had specifically prohibited U.S. authorities from granting a license for collecting or disseminating satellite imagery of Israel at a higher resolution than was available from non-American companies.