6:15 PM - Breaking News Update.
I was asked to join a conference call, organized by the IDF Spokesman's office, amidst international concern regarding the IDF nationwide exercise "Turning Point 4".
YNET even reported minutes ago:
"Today we have started a national civil defense drill, "Turning Point 4" which is a lesson/conclusion from the Second Lebanon war to help prepare the population for a missile attack and any emergency situation.
This is the 4rth year we are conducting a nation-wide drill.
Israel's entire civilian population will be asked to practice, this coming Wednesday at 11 AM, going to their bomb shelters upon hearing air-raid sirens, to practice the amount of time needed to get to shelter.
For example; In Haifa, residents have 1 minute from the time they hear the siren till they reach a shelter. Tel Aviv, 2 minutes, and Jerusalem 3 minutes.
On Monday and Tuesday; government ministries will be participating with local municipalities.
Scenarios to be drilled include: missile attacks, a train crash, HAZMAT events, mass casualty attacks, etc.
On Thursday, we will continue field exercises with all of Israel's emergency organizations; Emergency Medical Services, IDF Homefront troops, the Fire Brigade, police troops and more.
Q from Sascha blogger: This drill seems to only simulate attacks from the North? Aren't their threats from the South as well?
A: The missile attacks simulate attacks from anywhere -- it doesn't matter where the rockets are launched from: Gaza or the North.
Q from Jewlicious: How do you know where your closest bomb shelter is?
A: Its mandatory for all homes built after 1992 to have a private shelter (also known as a mamad). One of the conclusions after the first gulf war was to have personal shelters in all homes.
35% of the buildings in Israel have personal protective shelters. About 30% are close to a public shelter in or near their building.
25%-30% do not have a shelter -- and we are educating those residents how to find the best solution. If they live in a top floor in a building, they need to go to the stairwell, one floor down and that will help protect them.
Jameel's Question: Why are Lebanon, Syria and Hizbollah so scared of our civil defense drill?
Answer: I dont have a good answer for you, since everything is civil defense. We won't be using any tanks, or anything offensive. The only vehicles will be ambulances and fire trucks. Most countries prepare their populations for disasters like and earthquakes, natural disasters. Not only we we have to worry about natural disasters which we train for, but also threats from Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza.
Why are Hizbolla and Syria "scared" of the drill? You should probably be asking them...
I was asked to join a conference call, organized by the IDF Spokesman's office, amidst international concern regarding the IDF nationwide exercise "Turning Point 4".
YNET even reported minutes ago:
Syrian President Bashar Assad on Sunday called on the Western world to act against Israel, on the backdrop of a wide-scale home front drill launched by the Jewish state. "It's unthinkable that the West keeps silence in light of the Israeli aggression," he said.The Director of Population Control in the IDF Homefront Command: Colonel Dr. Yechiel "Hilik" Soffer spoke at the IDF's New Media/Blogger press conference:
Assad made the remarks during a meeting with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner in Damascus. According to official news agency SANA, the Syrian president noted that if the West is interested in security and stability in the Middle East, it must "start filling an active role in order to restrain Israel and its radical and dangerous tendencies towards security and peace in the region."
"Today we have started a national civil defense drill, "Turning Point 4" which is a lesson/conclusion from the Second Lebanon war to help prepare the population for a missile attack and any emergency situation.
This is the 4rth year we are conducting a nation-wide drill.
Israel's entire civilian population will be asked to practice, this coming Wednesday at 11 AM, going to their bomb shelters upon hearing air-raid sirens, to practice the amount of time needed to get to shelter.
For example; In Haifa, residents have 1 minute from the time they hear the siren till they reach a shelter. Tel Aviv, 2 minutes, and Jerusalem 3 minutes.
On Monday and Tuesday; government ministries will be participating with local municipalities.
Scenarios to be drilled include: missile attacks, a train crash, HAZMAT events, mass casualty attacks, etc.
On Thursday, we will continue field exercises with all of Israel's emergency organizations; Emergency Medical Services, IDF Homefront troops, the Fire Brigade, police troops and more.
Q from Sascha blogger: This drill seems to only simulate attacks from the North? Aren't their threats from the South as well?
A: The missile attacks simulate attacks from anywhere -- it doesn't matter where the rockets are launched from: Gaza or the North.
Q from Jewlicious: How do you know where your closest bomb shelter is?
A: Its mandatory for all homes built after 1992 to have a private shelter (also known as a mamad). One of the conclusions after the first gulf war was to have personal shelters in all homes.
35% of the buildings in Israel have personal protective shelters. About 30% are close to a public shelter in or near their building.
25%-30% do not have a shelter -- and we are educating those residents how to find the best solution. If they live in a top floor in a building, they need to go to the stairwell, one floor down and that will help protect them.
Jameel's Question: Why are Lebanon, Syria and Hizbollah so scared of our civil defense drill?
Answer: I dont have a good answer for you, since everything is civil defense. We won't be using any tanks, or anything offensive. The only vehicles will be ambulances and fire trucks. Most countries prepare their populations for disasters like and earthquakes, natural disasters. Not only we we have to worry about natural disasters which we train for, but also threats from Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza.
Why are Hizbolla and Syria "scared" of the drill? You should probably be asking them...
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Let them get 'nervous' over every little thing Israel does...... The guilty imagine the other side is doing what they are planning!!
ReplyDeletePS 3 posts? Are you going on another trip? Looking for fresh waffles? BTW my aruchat boker is one waffle and one coffee.
Didn't you hear? Israel is special. Israel can only mount an aggressive defense against "existential" threats, every other country can mount an aggressive defense against regular threats. And now, a new thing, purely defensive moves by Israel are defined as "aggression", while purely defensive moves by any other country are completely ignored and don't even merit any comment at all.
ReplyDeleteMark
The Arabs are using any excuse they can to move forces near the border.
ReplyDelete- dovid