Israel prepares for the Apocalypse

By Israel Insider staff
April 7, 2008

http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/Security/12769.htm

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert declared a simulated state of emergency Monday following the scenario of a barrage of hundreds of missiles fired on Israel from Syria, Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, as the country's largest-ever emergency exercise, "Turning Point 2," continues. While the name of the drill sounds like a film sequel, the scope of the exercise is unprecedented. Dozens of Israeli civilians were "killed" on Sunday as Israel went to "war" with Syria, Hizbullah and Hamas on the first day of the exercise.

The five-day drill opened with an announcement by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert at the weekly cabinet meeting Sunday of an outbreak of hostilities following the firing of Katyusha rockets into northern Israel by Hizbullah in Lebanon. The simulated conflict, conducted in telescoped time, escalated and by the afternoon - representing the fourth day of the war -- Israel was also being slammed by Syrian missiles and Hamas-fired Kassams and Katyushas from Gaza. A defense official involved in the exercise said that the National Emergency Authority -- in charge of the drill -- reported that by the fourth day of the war several dozen civilians had been killed by the missiles.

The official said that it was possible that by Monday, Israel would also start getting hit by Iranian Shihab-3 ballistic missiles. Then the numbers were expected start to soar. At 10 a.m. on Tuesday, sirens will blast nationwide in the rising and descending note that few young Israelis have ever heard, although they were sounded in the 1967 and 1973 wars and in the 1991 Gulf War; civilians, who have been stripped of their protective kits containing gas masks, have nothing much to do except locate the nearest bomb shelter or protected room.

Children in schools will be expected to "duck for cover" or head in the nearest protective space. Rescue services have been drilling mass evacuations from "hit zones" -- including chemical and biological attacks. Hospitals are drilling their ability to treat thousands of injured. Only some of the scenarios guiding the drill - drawn up by the recently-formed National Emergency Authority and the Defense Ministry -- are being revealed to the public, a police source said. But "There's no cause for alarm -- these are intended purely as exercises," said Yoram Ohayon, the head of police's operations division, according to the Jerusalem Post. "As far as I know, there is no concrete information that any kind of missile is going to be fired at Israel.

This exercise is aimed at optimizing the complex inter-organizational response that is needed for a mass-casualty incident," he said, speaking by phone from the police's national operations room in Jerusalem. "As soon as a threat penetrates Israel's borders, the police are the designated first-responders. Every incident has its own drawer plan, and if, God forbid, a threat does materialize, we will know how to deal with it," Ohayon said. The largest "incident" during the drill will take place in the Haifa Port area on Wednesday, when police and rescue services will simulate an explosion at a chemical facility.

"This is our worst-case scenario, which is why we chose it for this week's drill," said Moshe Weizmann, spokesman for the Northern Police District. During the exercise, police officers and rescue services will don bio-chemical protection suits to shield them from the hazardous materials that could contaminate the site, and will attempt to evacuate "victims." "They will only have a window of opportunity of a few minutes to do this," Weizmann said. "For the first time, the lessons of the Second Lebanon War will be applied and examined.

First, police will arrive on the scene, and they will be followed by officials from the Home Front Command, who will take charge," he added. On Wednesday, the police's Southern District will simulate an emergency situation that includes a major incident in Ashkelon, an area that has already come under fire from Hamas' extended-range Grad missiles. Southern District chief Cmdr. Uri Bar-Lev told The Jerusalem Post. "We will examine police responses to missile attacks as well as unconventional weapons attacks."

The district had been preparing for the worst over the past several months, he added. "Just last month, Lachish police simulated a chemical attack. We also had to make preparations for the possibility of a mass Palestinian storming of the Gaza border," he said. "We're constantly engaged in counterterrorism, with a focus on Gaza and the South Hebron Hills," where the security barrier has yet to extend. Now we will prepare for attacks that get through our defenses."

In Tel Aviv, police were tight-lipped about their drills, but a sea-borne attack. Firefighters will accompany the police in each simulated incident, and will use the drill to rehearse weapons-of-mass-destruction scenarios.

This week's drill will include hundreds of mobile intensive care units and ambulances. On the last day of the exercise - Thursday - Emek Medical Center in Afula will be the site of a simulated strike by a chemical warfare missile. The hospital has been asked to cope with a conventional missile, but this will be followed by the alert of an incoming chemical weapon that "lands" near the medical center. Around 300 simulated wounded -- volunteer high school pupils and soldiers -- will be rushed to the emergency room. The parking lot will be used to wash off the "victims." The staffers will wear protective gear, including masks, impermeable suits and gloves.