The Israel Police has launched a surprise nationwide security drill simulating
terrorist attacks and large public disturbances on Thursday.
The
five-hour exercise, which was managed by the police’s Operations Branch, is
aimed at testing field units’ first responses to various emergency incidents,
police said.
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Big Border Police exercise this weekIn the Jerusalem district, officers simulated murder and
kidnapping scenarios that then crossed the Green Line into the Judea and Samaria
district.
In the South, a patrol car was “hijacked” by terrorists and
stopped.
Officers in the Central district were instructed to deal with a
simulated truck bomb attack that originated from the West Bank.
Police in
the North were asked to deal with a simulated kidnapping, and a separate
incident involving hazardous materials.
Finally, in Tel Aviv, the drill
focused on a scenario involving terrorists who had taken control of the Mesubim
police station, shot dead victims, and taken hostages.
Police underwent
special training before the drills, police.
On Wednesday, outgoing Israel
Police Insp.-Gen. David Cohen said, during a tour of the Ashdod police station,
that his forces were ready for ”any possible scenario in the
country.”
The current period was “sensitive due to the developments in
the Middle East,” he said, referring to the uprising in Egypt.
Last
month, the Border Police held a large exercise simulating security scenarios. In
one simulation, forces raided a school in Rehovot that had been taken over by
“terrorists.”