Comptroller: Israeli homefront ill-prepared for prolonged missile attacks - Shlomo Cesana and Lilach Shoval

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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