According to a report published in the mass circulation daily, Israel is planning to send up another spy satellite with the ability to view objects in all weather conditions and in darkness.
The Eros satellites are effective only in daylight and in clear visibility, it said.
Further the report said that Eros B will join an earlier version of the satellite, launched in December 2000.
Both are set to augment the work of Israel's declared spy satellite, Ofek 5, which regularly passes over Arab territory.
Reinforcing the latest claim, Shimon Eckhaus, the Chief Executive of manufacturer ImageSat International told news agency, ''The capabilities of the satellite speak for themselves. I do not need to say anything about what the purpose of its use might be”.
Further according to Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz the nuclear programme being pursued by arch-foe Iran was the most serious threat faced by Jews since the Nazi Holocaust.
The launch comes at a time of heightened tension over Iran's nuclear programme.
LAUNCHED FROM RUSSIA
Like its predecessor in 2000, Eros B is set to be launched from the Svobodny Cosmodrome in the Russian Far East using a Russian Start-1 rocket.
According to the ImageSat, it will orbit the Earth at a height of about 500 km (310 miles) and will circle the globe roughly every 95 minutes.
The Eros satellites, which weigh less than 350kg (770 lb), are among a number of small, lightweight satellites which Israel's space industry has perfected, Eckhaus said.
Because of the country's geographical location and small size, the space industry generally favours smaller payloads that can more easily be launched from Israeli territory.
''The fact that we are launching the satellite in Russia means that we can do so with the Earth's rotation and makes it more effective and gives it a longer life span,'' Eckhaus said.
Besides Israel is only able to launch small satellites westwards over the Mediterranean Sea -- opposite to the Earth's rotation -- because it cannot risk rockets flying over its Arab neighbours to the east or debris falling on their territory.
The satellite manufacturer ImageSat International is partly owned by government-held Israel Aircraft Industries, the country's biggest defence company.
