by Itsik Saban
Relentless kite terrorism has so far decimated over 8,000 acres of forest and farmland on the Israeli side of the border
Israel will form a
special task force to combat Palestinian arson terrorism that has been
wreaking havoc on Israeli communities adjacent to the Israel-Gaza
Strip border.
Fire and Rescue Commissioner David Simchi
announced the move on Sunday, saying the task force would be
exclusively responsible for dealing with fires sparked by incendiary
kites and firebomb balloons sent over the border.
Headed by a Fire and Rescue Services
colonel, the task force will comprise firefighters from the service's
southern district, as well as Homefront Command teams.
Palestinian kite terrorism, which has been
ravaging Gaza-vicinity communities since late April, has so far
sparked 860 fires. Over 8,000 acres of forest and agricultural
land on the Israeli side of the border have been decimated,
causing millions of dollars in damage.
The Nature and Parks Authority said the
fires have destroyed 25% of all nature reserves near the border. The
damage to the area's flora and fauna will take years to
rehabilitate, it said.
The decision to establish the task force
was made over the relentless nature of the kite campaign, which Hamas –
the terrorist group that rules Gaza – refuses to curtail.
If anything, Hamas operatives have been trying to upgrade the kites to fly deeper into Israeli territory.
Fire and Rescue Services data indicates
that there are five points along the 60-kilometer (37-mile) border
between Gaza and Israel from where terrorists fly incendiary devices.
While fires near the border rage daily, the
data also shows a decrease in the overall number of major blazes,
which the Fire and Rescue Services attributes to the firefighters'
readiness on the ground as well as to the fact that, given the
devastation in the area, new fires have fewer areas into which they
can spread.
"The new task force will adapt to the
dynamic nature of operations on the ground and will allow the teams
currently deployed near the Gaza border to return to their normal
missions," Simchi said Sunday.
He noted that the task force will also
coordinate wide-scale missions with the IDF, Israel Police, Jewish
National Fund, Nature and Parks Authority and the heads of the local
communities.
The border-vicinity area will be split into
two sectors. Large firefighting teams will be assigned to each sector
and they will have a variety of advanced measures at their disposal,
including all-terrain vehicles and motorcycles recently purchased by
the Public Security Ministry.
The new vehicles are equipped with special
gear to carry water and flame retarding agents and are meant to be used
as a first response ahead of the firefighters' arrival at the scene.
Itsik Saban
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/2018/07/09/israel-forms-designated-task-force-to-combat-%e2%80%8epalestinian-arson-terrorism/
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