Dimona Lookin all Pretty on Google Earth

After looking at low-res blurs for years, now you can count the cars in the Dimona parking lot. Granted they were probably there a year or two ago, but this is still cool. The latest update of Google Earth has some fun new images of Israeli sites.

To find the nuclear reactor, search for the Negev Nuclear Research Center in Google Earth. It should be a pretty clear image with a marker for the wikipedia entry.

The San Francisco Chronicle has more info on Israeli military sites you can now find on Google Earth. As to be expected, Israeli officials are not commenting.

According to Israeli experts, the photographs in question are a year or two years old, and clearly show the layout of top-secret buildings. The photograph of the nuclear plant at Dimona shows the approach roads, internal walkways and individual buildings in a facility that is off-limits and hidden behind electric fences with large warnings signs and a complex array of cameras and other security devices.

The images also include Camp Rabin, the heavily guarded defense headquarters in central Tel Aviv that is surrounded by anti-terrorist blockades, a high wall and buildings with bomb-proof windows. It contains the underground bunker from which Israel’s top generals command their military campaigns, as well as the offices of the prime minister, defense minister and Shin Bet secret service.

Moreover, the alleged Mossad headquarters, whose location is a highly protected secret, was identified and labeled by a Google Earth user.

Update: As related wonkporn, here is a video which appears to have been made by an Israeli TV channel (alas no date or any other real details) on the facilities at Dimona, based on information Mordechai Vanunu leaked to British press. The background music is my favorite part.

Jeffrey adds: Here is the .kmz file.