Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Gov't Exercise: Tests Emergency Evacuation to Judea and Samaria

IDF Emergency Drill (illustrative)
IDF Emergency Drill (illustrative)
Israel News Photo
03/09/10, 9:49 PM
by Malkah Fleisher

(IsraelNN.com) A Home Front (Civil Defense) Command drill which tested the home front's readiness to endure an attack, included the possibility of absorbing refugee residents of central Israel into the towns of Judea and Samaria.

Avi Roeh, head of the Binyamin Regional Council, commented on the exercises and their outcome.

"It became clear to us during the drill that [in Judea and Samaria] there are warm and good people who are ready to absorb citizens. The state, the Emergency Economy Program and the National Emergency Management Services understood that such absorption would be part of the wartime reality, and that it is necessary to prepare for the evacuation of large communities," Roeh said.

He emphasized that the needs of the communities that are interested in taking in citizens during an emergency should be examined and provided for, including various assistance measures and housing options which are planned for in advance, instead of just counting on volunteerism in the moment of crisis.

Roeh said that while data regarding the emergency capacity of Jewish towns in the biblical heartland have not been disclosed, thousands of families are ready to take in their brothers and sisters from the coastal and central areas of Israel. "These areas are densely populated and therefore most vulnerable to missile or rocket attacks.

As an aside, Roeh referred to the building of new Palestinian Authority town Rawabi in the Binyamin Region as a potential security threat to Jewish citizens in the area, and a development that will lead to serious transportation and environmental issues

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