Jerusalem, Aug. 27 (PTI): Israel is constructing an underground bunker,
which will house the prime minister's office and military command
centers, to withstand a nuclear attack, a media report here said.

Construction of the USD 240 million worth new National Command Center,
where the country's leaders would be taken, should Israel suffer a
nuclear attack, is rapidly progressing, daily 'Yedioth Ahronoth'
reported today.

"It's like something out of a movie, you walk around it in complete awe,
knowing this is the place they'll be running the country from," a
government source was quoted by the daily as saying.

The bunker is being constructed in one of Jerusalem's mountains and will
have a guarded tunnel, designed to allow two trucks to ride side by
side, leading into it, the report said.

At an undisclosed depth lay a series of halls, dozens of feet high,
where the official offices, quarters and emergency exits will be built,
it said.

Four of the world's leading construction companies have been working
together to build the bunker, 'Ynet' reported.

All those involved in the project, including the construction crews, are
Jewish and have been subjected to rigorous security screening
procedures, it said.

The underground complex will eventually be connected to the new prime
minister's office currently being built, the report said.

Environmental organisations have started protesting against the
facility's effects on the natural reserve, but none of them have been
allowed to inspect the construction site, or its plans, for security
reasons.

The National Command Center is expected to be completed in 2011, the
report said.

Israel has dubbed Iran's nuclear programme as the 'single biggest
threat' against the Jewish state.