RESPONSE
Gaddafi’s regime and his missiles had already reached Gaza. On the Egyptian border, the power vacuum in Sinai opened a new front for Islamist terrorist networks. In this ticking-bomb environ- ment, how does Israel prepare itself for a NBC attack?
Deterrence ex ante The modern state of Israel has been under a state of emergency (Matzav Herum) since its establishment in 1948. In order to protect and defend the country, Israel has based the core of its national security strategy on 3 pillars: deterrence, early warning and military victory. In addition to the Samson Option, a
group of experts from the military establishment and working in foreign policy reunited in 2003 under ‘Project Daniel’ – with the aim to express strategic recommendations in the context of NBC attack, with particular attention to the Iranian threat. This project discusses how to prevent Israel’s enemies – terrorist networks and states – to acquire nonconventional weapons. Project Daniel emphasized the key role of deterrence and recommended a pre-emptive strike as anticipatory self-defence. This was exacted in 1981, when Israeli forces bombarded the Osirak nuclear central reactor of Saddam Hussein. In 2007, Israel repeated this action on the al-Kabir nuclear facility in Syria.
“The entire people is the army…” The Gulf War changed the configuration of conflicts and multiplied the types of threats. The Israeli civilian population became the main target of Saddam Hussein’s Scud missiles and was for the first time under the direct threat of chemical attack. Ever since, the home front has been the main theatre for confrontation: the Second Intifada (2001-2005), the Second Lebanon War (2006), and the Gaza Strip (2005-2008, including Operation Cast Lead from December 2008). Enemies realized that they could inflict greater damages to the home front and reach the entire country due to its small size and high population density localized in a few urban centres. All these conflicts led to a progressive
reorganization of civil defence in Israel. In 1992, on the aſtermath of the Gulf War, civil defence has been recognized as the Fourth Command of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF). Then, the Second Lebanon War demonstrated different security breaches and a lack of coordination within this Home Front Command. Critics called for the official adoption of home front defence and resilience as a core
pillar of the national security strategy. This resulted into the creation of
the Emergency Management Authority (RAHEL) in 2007. This body is respon- sible for civilian preparedness against unconventional weapons. Its role includes the distribution of protective kits to all residents in Israel, and the dissemination of information through any kind of media channel, including:
» How to use gas masks » How to seal a room in an apartment and in public areas spaces
» How to dispatch the population to avoid mass casualties
» How to behave during an attack.
time and to Internet users in a targeted area to alert them of an imminent attack. This intelligence system enables to process radar detection and estimate the expected targeted area. Despite Israel’s efforts to ensure
full preparedness, there is still a great shortage of shelters and protective kits containing CBRN gas masks. The Israel Defence Magazine reported that:
» Only 5 % of the population has access to a residential protected area or access to multi-family residential complexes (the law regarding mandatory construction of a shelter in each apartment was only voted
Photo by GPO
http://oref.mdigital.co.il/
The Israeli Home Front Command’s website, which provides Emergency Instructions in the event of a CBRN attack.
To complete its task, the Home Front
Command has two battalions, SHAHAR and KEDEM, dedicated in time of warfare to search and rescue (SAR). These troops receive full training in CBRN defence skills and are prepared to deal with the aſtermath of a CBRN attack.
… The entire land is the front” The IDF is holding national drills to educate and prepare the population for a CBRN attack. In the event of a war with Iran (a possible pre-emptive strike against Iranian nuclear facilities), the IDF (Israeli Defence Force) in August 2012 began to distribute the latest military-issued emergency pamphlet. In it a muppet character, Moishe Oofnik, teaches homeland security to Israeli children.
Limits to personal protection The national warning system has been improved since the Second Lebanon War. As Major General (Ret.) Matan Vilnai, Israel’s Minister of Home Front Defence, reported in Israel Defence Magazine, the number of warning sirens has doubled to 3,000. He also mentioned that the warning system strategy would include a ‘Personal Message’ system to cell phones in real
Israeli PM Benyamin Netanyahu describing Iran’s nuclear progress to the UN General Assembly.
through in 1991). RAHEL recommends the use of underground facilities such as car parks as shelters that could stockpile medicine, food and protect critical infrastructure.
» 27% of the population already possess a protective kit and only 60% can have access to one due to a budget gap. For the Home Front Command, if the civilian population follows the military preparedness instructions, just a minority will be at risk.
Civilian casualties are an inherent warfare risk. To minimize them, Israel is substantially increasing its emergency preparedness to insure that every citizen gets the necessary information to compensate for the shortage of resources, and is also rapidly developing innovative equipment (such as shelter beds) to respond to its main goal: to avoid a new Holocaust. zy
Samantha Rubinsztejn is a Key Account IT Manager with an M.A. in Non Proliferation and International Security from King’s College London and a B.A. in Counter-Terrorism & Homeland Security from the Interdisciplinary Center of Herzliya, Israel.
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