I'm not an expert but looks like you're right. > Shavit rockets are launched from Palmachim Airbase by the Israel Space Agency into highly retrograde orbits ov

I'm not an expert but looks like you're right. > Shavit rockets are launched from Palmachim Airbase by the Israel Space Agency into highly retrograde orbits over the Mediterranean Sea to prevent debris coming down in populated areas and also to avoid flying over nations hostile to Israel to the east; this results in a lower payload-to-orbit than east-directed launches would allow https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shavit_2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shavit_2