OUR SOLDIERS SPEAK UPDATE Thursday, November 17th, 2011 Our Soldiers Speak is proud to introduce our in-house analyst, Yaakov Lappin.
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Yaakov will be proividing regular, fact based updates on current affairs in Israel. Please forward his analyses to any and all on your mailing list, or visit his blog atwww.oursoldiersspeak.org.
Kindest Regards,
Benjamin Anthony, Founder, Our Soldiers Speak
This week - A look at Israel's immune system
Note: This is the first in a 3-part series that will examine how Israel's security forces have developed some of the most effective counter-terrorism measures in the world
Introduction
Israel's security and law enforcement agencies are tasked with the unique and vast role of maintaining continuous security for the country's 7,800,000 citizens.
Throughout the years, these bodies have created some of the most effective measures and security structures in the world, which have successfully kept Israelis safe from an array of security threats, including bombing attacks, shootings, rockets, kidnappings, and riots.
Four organizations work around the clock to achieve this goal, collectively functioning like an immune system. They form protective layers around civilian population centers, scan for threats, and swarm areas in which security incidents have occurred to contain and minimize the development.
3 layers of security for periods of calm
Israel maintains 3 layers of security around its cities and major population centers during periods of calm. In the outer-most perimeter, the IDF patrols the country's frontiers and maintains strategic positions around the West Bank. The Border Police, backed by the security fence, fortifies security around Jerusalem, its suburbs, and the Green Line area between Israel and the West Bank. The Israel Police has jurisdiction over all Israeli territory within the Green Line, including the Gush Dan metropolitan area, home to around 2,900,000 people.
A fourth, invisible yet critical layer is provided by the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), which gathers intelligence on emerging security threats in the West Bank, Gaza, and Israel. It directs security forces to the locations of suspects and plots, thwarting attacks before they occur.
Going on alert: The police adds 3 more layers
Periods of high alert can be prompted by intelligence of an impending threat, or national or religious holidays, when member s of the public are present in large numbers in city centers, forming potential targets for Palestinian terror organizations.
During such times, the Israel Police restructures itself to provide maximum security to the public. It forms 3 rings of internal security inside the Green Line, in addition to the 3 major layers of security which already exist.
Police units form one line of defense around the Green Line, and a second ring around city centers, setting up roadblocks at their entrances to monitor traffic and stop any suspicious vehicle.
Inside cities like Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, Ashdod and Rishon Lezion, thousands of officers are deployed to maintain an increased presence and be on the lookout for any suspicious activity.
In Jerusalem, elite police units and the Border Police will often spread out across the eastern section of the city, as well as the alleys of the Old City and around the Temple Mount. (i)
Police may also choose to set up mobile command and control rooms, which monitor the locations of all units, receives aerial video feeds from police helicopters and blimps, and gets intelligence feeds, thereby keeping track of developments.
Such tactics paid off in August, when a terrorist from the West Bank attempted to ram a taxi he carjacked into a crowd of young people outside of a packed nightclub in southern Tel Aviv. (ii) The Tel Aviv police district had been on high alert, and placed a roadblock outside of the nightclub, which prevented the terrorist from reaching his target.
The unarmed terrorist managed to get past several rings of security to enter the heart of an Israeli city, but was unable to get past the last layer to carry out his attack.
Containing an attack
The general calm which prevails most of the time in Israel is a testament to the fact that the system described above works, despite countless attempts by terror organizations to breach it.
But no security arrangement is full proof, and sometimes the terrorists are able to circumvent the obstacles in their path, evade intelligence, and reach an Israeli target.
When this happens, Israeli emergency responders, led by the police, go into action. They are responsible for dealing with and containing the incident, as well as returning the affected area to normalcy as soon as possible, in order to minimize disruption.
Simultaneously, in the event of an attack emerging from outside the country's borders or past the Green Line, the IDF goes into action to track down the perpetrators.
Police, Magen David paramedics, and Israel Fire and Rescue units flood the scene of a terrorist attack. The police's first task is to seal off the area to enable paramedics to assist the injured, and, in case of a bomb attack, to ensure that possible secondary explosives do not cause additional casualties. Firemen will oversee the rescue of any trapped victims, and ensure that gas supplies are shut off, electrics are closed down, and water mains are sealed to prevent a further deterioration of the area.
Highly trained bomb squad units will attend every scene involving an explosive device. Their first task is to scan for more explosives. (iii) They then recover what remains of the explosive used in the attack, and bring it back to a forensics lab, where bomb specialists learn about the latest devices used by Palestinian terror groups to kill and maim civilians. The results of the analysis are quickly shared with the intelligence services and the IDF, and can be crucial in the hunt for the perpetrators.
Part 2 will examine countermeasures in place against rocket attacks from Gaza, and technological innovations for increased border security.
(i) Police go on high alert in J'lem, Golan, Jerusalem Post, June 6, 2011.
(ii) Nablus man who attacked TA club named as Muhammad Sa’afan, Jerusalem Post, August 28, 2011
(iii) The Last Line of Defense, Jerusalem Post Magazine, April 14, 2011
Yaakov Lappin is author of the recently published book Virtual Caliphate; Exposing the Islamist State on the Internet, which takes the reader into the heart of the online jihadi presence. The book is available here.
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Thursday, 17 November 2011
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