Space. Photo: File.

A former Director General of Israel’s Defense Ministry revealed that a committee he established recommends the launching of dormant satellites into space that could be used to attack enemy targets on earth, Israeli daily Walla reported on Thursday.

Major General (ret.) Udi Shani made his remarks Wednesday night at the Ninth International Conference on Space in Herzliya that was organized by the Israeli Space Agency, a branch of Israel’s Ministry of Science and Technology.

Shani, who served as Director General of the Defense Ministry during the administration of Prime Minister Ehud Barak, said at the gathering that this special committee was established a few years ago with the aim of assessing the feasibility of developing an Israeli space program, Walla reported.

Regarding the committee’s most interesting recommendation, Shani said on Wednesday: “I think it is worthwhile to develop an attack capability from space, with systems that can be activated once the situation on the ground has reached a critical state.”

Shani explained to the hundreds of assembled delegates that the development of an Israeli space capability is crucial since the region’s terrestrial and marine military options have been exhausted, Walla said.

However, Shani asserted, “There are two spheres in which the possibilities remain vast… cyberspace and outer space.”

Shani then urged Israel’s political establishment and military apparatus to develop a space program by investing time and treasure in the extraterrestrial endeavor. “Resources must be allotted, even at the expense of other programs. We should aspire for complete independence as we pursue this capability. We cannot be reliant on any foreign power,” Shani said.

The former Director General concluded by saying that access to the advanced space technology of close allies should not be taken for granted.

Every aspect of an Israeli space program should be, “blue and white,” Shani said.