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Our Soldiers Speak OUR SOLDIERS SPEAK UPDATE Thursday, December 29th, 2011 Please click here to donate to Our Soldiers Speak Our Soldiers Speak is proud to introduce our in-house analyst, Yaakov Lappin. Yaakov will be providing 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 at www.oursoldiersspeak.org. Kindest Regards, Benjamin Anthony, Founder, Our Soldiers Speak Securing the Gaza border Note: This is the last in a 3-part series that examines techniques employed by Israel's security forces. In part 2, we looked at defensive and offensive responses to the ongoing threat of Palestinian rockets. Today, we will examine Israel's border security measures on the Gaza frontier. Background Israel's border with Gaza is one of the more volatile frontiers in the world. It is the scene of frequent attempts by Palestinian terrorists to launch shooting and explosive attacks on IDF forces patrolling the Israeli side of the border. Jihadi cells from Gaza also attempt to cross the border to get to Israeli civilian areas, in order to perpetrate lethal terror attacks. The IDF has deployed a wide range of defenses to protect the over one million civilians who live in southern Israel, many of them no more than dozens of kilometers away from the frontline. Securing the border in 2011: Robotic jeeps and remote controlled machine guns In addition to its use of traditional border security measures (discussed below), the IDF became one of the first militaries to deploy a robotic unmanned jeep, capable of opening fire on terrorist suspects along the Gaza border. The Guardium unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) was developed by Elbit Systems and the Israel Aerospace Industries. (i) The jeep is armed with a machine gun, is protected by light armor, and has video and heat-sensitive cameras onboard, as well as microphones. It patrols sections of the Gaza border and is operated out of IDF control centers. The jeep is able to reach speeds of 80 kilometers (50 miles) per hour. (ii) Its addition to manned patrols allows for an increased border presence and interceptions of enemy raids. In 2008, the IDF's southern command installed remote-control machine guns and camera posts along the Gazan border. (iii) The posts are connected to control rooms staffed 24 hours a day, which receive video feeds from the cameras. Operators can direct fire against hostile movements from long distance, and target a terror cell planting a roadside bomb. They can also send reinforcements to the scene if necessary. Small robots are also being developed by Israel's defense industries to tackle the threat of enemy tunnels. These include the EyeDrive miniature robot, which has 360 degree vision and an all-terrain transportation system. This robot can penetrate and scope out terrorist tunnels. (iv) The robot's manufacturers, ODF Optronics, together with Rafael Advanced Defense Systems may arm the robot with miniature rockets in the future capable of striking targets up to 30 meter (93 feet) away. Traditional border security Tanks, jeeps, infantry, and artillery forces are deployed along the Gaza border as part of the army's more traditional security measures. The IDF's Gaza Division is a regional military force responsible for securing the problematic border. It is divided into two brigades, one northern and one southern. In 2010, the IDF's Southern Command, which has jurisdiction over the Gaza border, stationed a tank battalion in the area that features Israel's first ever tanks with their own missile protection shield. (v) The decision reflects the growing threat of anti-tank missiles smuggled into the Gaza Strip and distributed to Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters. Armored bulldozers for clearing structures used as cover by terrorists are joined by lighter combat vehicles, such as armored personnel vehicles, along the border. These vehicles collectively act as a defensive layer to protect southern Israel and, if required, can turn into a rapid offensive force on call to enter Gaza in response to an attack. Finally, an electronic sensor fence is in place along the border. Assessing the threats Threats faced by Israeli soldiers guarding the border include snipers, roadside bombs, anti-tank missiles, and mortars. Some types of roadside bombs planted along the border are improvised explosive devices, of a similar type to those used against US forces in Iraq (although the circumstances of the Gaza-border battle arena are very different to those of Iraq). The threat is not limited to soldiers - terrorists in Gaza murdered a 16-year-old Israel teenager by firing a sophisticated anti-tank missile at a yellow school bus on the Israeli side of the border in April 2011. On some occasions, hostile elements launch combined mortar and shooting attacks on the border. Other times, Palestinian factions attempt to dig under the border and rig their tunnels with explosives to facilitate their attacks. November was a relatively quiet month for the border, with one mortar and one shooting attack recorded by the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet). Yet the calm is deceptive. Hamas and Islamic Jihad are arming themselves with a broad range of weapons smuggled to them by Iran, via Sudan and Egypt. Both they and smaller groups have vowed to try and kidnap more IDF soldiers, and have plans for extensive cross-border raids. The security situation could easily flare up at any point in the future, and security forces remain on high alert. During 2010, 215 mortars fired into Israel landed around the border area, striking mostly Israeli farming areas. The peak year for mortar attacks was 2008, when no fewer than 1,668 shells were fired. (i) IDF to use unmanned jeeps in conflict with Gaza militants, Haaretz March 6, 2008 (ii) Guardium Autonomous Unmanned Ground Vehicle, Defense Updates undated (iii) IDF deploys new anti-terror system around Gaza, Ynetnews March 24, 2008 (iv) IDF Seeks Effective Anti-Tunnel Technologies, Aviation Week undated (v) IDF to station only 'wind jacket' tanks on border (Hebrew document), Haaretz January 20, 2010 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. www.amazon.com www.oursoldiersspeak.org