Israel Police and Magen David Adom emergency medical services on Wednesday evening raised their alert level as a result of the Jerusalem bombing attack and recent rocket and mortar barrages which have hit the South.
Police brass headed by Insp.-Gen. David Cohen held an evaluation meeting which ended with a conclusion to place police on the highest state of alert and to send reinforcements from other districts to the Jerusalem district and the rocket-stricken southern district.
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Ongoing evaluations will be held by all security and emergency services.
Cohen praised the conduct of civilians during the terrorist bombing.
Wednesday's
meeting was attended by Jerusalem police chief Cmdr. Ilan Franco, the
head of the Operations Branch Cmdr. Nissim Mor, and additional senior
officers.
At the same time, an evaluation meeting held in the
police's Central district, headed by Cmdr. Bentsi Sao, concluded with an
order to all officers to be on the lookout for suspicious items and
individuals.
The police's 100 emergency telephone service will be beefed up with additional operators.
Additionally, officers will be deployed to crowded areas in order to increase the personal security of members of the public.
One woman died and 39 people
were injured the Jerusalem terror attack. Three were injured seriously from the
explosion itself, five moderately from shrapnel packed into the
explosive device and the remainder were in light condition.
The
injured were taken to Hadassah Ein Kerem, Hadassah Mount Scopus, Bikur
Holim and Shaare Tzedek hospitals. All hospitals in the area were opened
to receive casualties.
Several hours after the explosion, the
scene of the attack was cleaned and all activities returned to normal,
daily routines. Public transportation operated normally and error-free,
hiding the day's earlier events.
Officials have said that the Jerusalem Marathon, which is set to begin at the site of the bombing on Friday, will take place as scheduled.
In
addition, police in the South increased the number of officers and
patrol cars in the country's largest police districts in response to the
threat of further rockets and shells from the Gaza Strip.
Lt.-Cmdr.
Kobi Cohen, acting southern district head, held an evaluation meeting
over the security situation, and concluded with a decision to increase
the number of officers at the disposal of station chiefs.
Patrol
cars on urban roads will be beefed up as well, and a stand-by police
force will be available in case of an additional flare up.
Officers will also be deployed on roads leading to hospitals, and police volunteers have been called up.
Since the beginning of the week, 69 rockets were fired from Gaza into
the southern district, while 109 rockets have been fired since the
beginning of the year.
Since the end of Operation Cast Lead, 450 rockets were fired into southern Israel, police said.