by Shlomo Cesana and Lilach Shoval
New report paints bleak picture of homefront emergency readiness • State comptroller warns emergency infrastructure, early warning systems not up to par, mass evacuation plans "unfeasible" • Cabinet hasn’t fully discussed the issue even once, he faults.
A rocket fired at Tel Aviv
from the Gaza Strip [Archive]
|
Photo credit: Reuters  |
The Israeli homefront is ill-prepared to deal
with prolonged missile attacks, a report by State Comptroller Yosef
Shapira warned Tuesday.
The report found gaps in communities'
emergency readiness in terms of infrastructure, as well as with respect
to early warning and evacuation readiness.
Public municipal shelters, as well as shared
residential shelters, were found to be below standard in dozens of
communities, effectively placing some 2 million Israelis at risk. The
report warned that public shelters in most cities were ill-equipped and
would not be able to accommodate long-term stay.
Shapira's findings indicated that the data
presented by the Homefront Command as to the ratio of the population
with access to shelters were skewed and rounded upward, which in turn
could undermine the political and military decision-making process at
wartime, as well as undercut municipal emergency readiness plans.
The audit further reviewed the issue of early
warning and air raid systems, determining that "as of the conclusion of
this audit in October 2015, the measures currently available to the
Israeli Air Force and Homefront Command fall short of providing the
public with sufficient warning against some of the threats posed by the
enemy."
The report noted that deficiencies were found
"despite the fact that in 2013, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had
allocated a multi-year budget for the Homefront Command to upgrade the
[nationwide] warning system."
Plans of the mass evacuation of communities
under threat were deemed "unfeasible" by the comptroller, over some
ministries and the military's "failure to complete the necessary
preparations."
Shapira said that despite the considerable
threat northern communities face and the limited defense that can be
afforded to them, the IDF and the Defense Ministry have failed to put a
plan in place for a mass evacuation, nor has the political or military
echelons debated the gaps in civilian defense.
The report leveled harsh criticism at the
Diplomatic-Security Cabinet, for failing to hold any debate on the
missile threat the Israeli homefront faces.
"Until June 2016 the cabinet has not held so
much as one session with IDF officials and relevant ministries to review
the homefront's overall emergency readiness. Lacking a comprehensive
picture of homefront needs in wartime, no budgetary priorities have been
set for investments in homefront defense," Shapira wrote.
There are considerable disparities between
municipalities nationwide in terms of homefront defense, especially in
northern Israel, the audit found, "But despite this fact, the IDF and
the Defense Ministry have failed to formulate proper evacuation plans."
The report faults "a lack of coordination
between the various bodies tasked with homefront defense, including the
Defense Ministry, IDF and National Security Council" for these
disparities.
"While there has been some improvement in
homefront readiness since the [2006] Second Lebanon War, the
discrepancies found mandate the urgent attention of the political
leadership, especially the prime minister and defense minister, who must
address the findings and show greater involvement in dealing with the
issues underscored in this report, as there are lives at stake," Shapira
said.
'Everyone knows exactly what to do'
An IDF Spokesperson's Unit statement said the military "has received the report and is studying its findings."
It noted that "under the law, maintaining the integrity of public shelters falls first and foremost to municipalities."
Commenting on the deficiencies in early
warning systems, the IDF said, "Over the past year, the IAF has carried
out extensive deployment of tactical radars along the Gaza Strip, to
facilitate optimal warning in different sectors.
"The Homefront Command handles the maintenance
of all warning systems, and it has undertaken an unprecedented mapping
project to accurately reflect [civilian] defense disparities in Israel,
and some 85% of Israel has already been mapped accordingly. The mapping
project is scheduled to be completed by August 2017.
"The Homefront Command works closely with the
National Emergency Administration and government ministries, and it has
presented the existing data at various Knesset committees many times,"
the military said.
The National Emergency Administration said
that "since June 2014, the NEA, in collaboration with the Homefront
Command, has completed a historic regulation of powers between the
national bodies handling homefront defense, and has also completed
drafting the civilian defense memorandum, which legally regulates this
issue for the first time."
The Defense Ministry said that its current
mass evacuation plans "are the most detailed, coordinated and accurate
plans devised to date, and include microresolutions almost to the level
of the individual family. Every community on the northern border and all
Gaza vicinity communities know where to evacuate to in wartime, and
every government ministry knows its role should an evacuation be
ordered.
"Contrary to the audit's findings, the various
evacuation plans complement each other, and they have been drilled
several times over the past few years," the ministry said.
While the Prime Minister's Office did not
immediately comment on the report, a statement it issued on the subject
in March was quoted in Shapira's audit as saying: "Setting homefront
defense and emergency readiness priorities is pursued routinely by the
Defense Ministry and is routinely discussed by the Ministerial Committee
on Homefront Emergency Readiness, which the defense minister heads."
Shlomo Cesana and Lilach Shoval
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=38581
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