Knesset taking lessons from US Capitol riots to beef up security methods
The cost of the riot dispersal methods totaled around NIS 300,000. The Knesset Guard has since been working in training security officers.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFA mob of supporters of former US President Donald Trump fight with members of law enforcement at a door they broke open as they storm the US Capitol Building in Washington, US, January 6, 2021.(photo credit: REUTERS/LEAH MILLIS/FILE PHOTO)
The Knesset Guard increased their arsenal of anti-riot equipment out of concern that there could be an event similar to the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, Haaretz reported on Tuesday.Discussions in preparation for such an event at the Knesset began weeks after the US Capitol was breached by supporters of former US President Donald Trump, with the guard purchasing sponge bullets and stun grenades among other riot dispersal methods, the report noted.The cost of the riot dispersal methods totaled to around NIS 300,000. The Knesset Guard has since been working in training security officers belonging to the special unit on how to use such methods.The Knesset Guard is the force solely responsible for maintaining the security of the Israeli capitol building, as well as the areas surrounding the complex and the compound. Knesset Officer Yoav Griff heads the special unit and holds similar responsibilities to a police district commander."In the event of an emergency, there will be cooperation between the Knesset Guard and the Israel Police, and therefore it is necessary that the guards be trained through the police so that coordination between forces is necessary," a document summarizing the new measures stated, according to Haaretz. "Jointly, in order to reduce the existing preparations for the use of different equipment and to maintain efficiency in responding to emergency scenarios."Israeli police are normally not able to operate within the area, and security threats are typically left for the Knesset Guard to handle.There has been opposition to the new measures. Haaretz cited a police source who claimed the dispersal methods could harm police officers operating outside the confines of the Mishkan, noting the "the events of the Capitol made it clear that such a thing could happen in Israel as well, certainly only because of the fragile political situation, but in practice the chances are very low."Haaretz noted that even during the most heated protests in the past two years, the Knesset has never been a target.Police in the US Capitol in January responded with drawn guns and tear gas as swarms of protesters stormed in and sought to force Congress to undo Trump's election loss, shortly after some of Trump's fellow Republicans launched a last-ditch effort to throw out the results.Police evacuated the House of Representatives and the Senate after pro-Trump protesters marched through the halls of Congress, forcing both chambers to suspend deliberations as they were meeting to certify President-elect Joe Biden's victory in the Nov. 3 election.Video showed police deploying tear gas inside the building. The entire DC National Guard had to be activated and the US Defense Secretary had prepared to provide additional support if requested by local authorities - similar to the Knesset provisions.The chaotic scenes unfolded after Trump, due to leave office on Jan. 20, addressed thousands of protesters, repeating false claims that the election was stolen from him due to widespread election fraud and irregularities. Lawmakers had been debating a last-ditch effort by pro-Trump lawmakers to challenge the results, an effort that was unlikely to succeed.Outside the Capitol, members of militia groups and far-right groups, some in body armor, mingled with the crowds. Protesters chanting pro-Trump slogans overturned barricades and clashed with police.FBI Director Chris Wray last week suggested "serious charges" are still coming in the criminal investigation of the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol."This is a very ongoing investigation and there's a lot more to come," Wray said during an oversight hearing held by the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee. "I would expect to see more charges — some of them maybe more serious charges."Wray testified that the FBI considered the attack an act of "domestic terrorism." He said he understands why Democratic lawmakers have called the attack an "insurrection," but said it would not be appropriate for him to use that word because of the effect it could have on pending criminal cases."In my role as FBI director, because that's a term that has legal meaning, I really have to be careful about using words like that," Wray said.Democratic lawmakers repeatedly grilled Wray, appointed by Trump in 2017, over what they said were intelligence failures that left law enforcement ill-prepared for the deadly attack."The FBI's inaction in the weeks leading up to Jan. 6 is simply baffling," House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler said. "It is hard to tell whether FBI headquarters merely missed the evidence — which had been flagged by your field offices and was available online for all the world to see — or whether the Bureau saw the intelligence, underestimated the threat, and simply failed to act."Wray responded that on Jan. 5 an FBI field office in Virginia issued an explicit warning, sent to US Capitol Police, that extremists were preparing to travel to Washington to commit violence.Wray added that "almost none" of the 500 people charged so far with participating in the attack had been under FBI investigation previously, suggesting it would have been difficult for the FBI to have monitored them in advance."You can be darn sure that we are going to be looking hard at how we can do better, how we can do more, how we can do things differently in terms of collecting and disseminating" intelligence, Wray said.Asked whether the FBI was investigating Trump or his associate Roger Stone, Wray said he could neither confirm nor deny any FBI investigation."I'm talking about Mr. Big, Number One," said Tennessee Democrat Steve Cohen, referring to Trump. "Have you gone after the people who incited the riot?"Wray responded: "I don't think it would be appropriate for me to be discussing whether or not we are or aren't investigating specific individuals."Reuters and Zachary Keyser contributed to this report.
