In the state comptroller’s latest report, released on Monday, State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss states that in the event of a chemical attack chas v’sholom, most Israelis would be exposed, lacking any type of acceptable protection.

The report states that since the Second Gulf War in 2003, there has been a steady decline in the number of gas mask protection kits in the hands of citizens, as the collection of masks began in 2006 and will only be refurbished and re-distributed in the coming years, to be completed by 2013. As a result concludes Lindenstrauss, most of the population is exposed in the event of a chemical assault.

The comptroller recommends the formation of a ministerial committee to oversee implementation of an expeditious renewal program, adding an appropriate budget must immediately be allocated towards the project, which must be completed in a shorter period of time than is currently planned.

As was reported by YWN on Monday (HERE), about 80% of the masks were collected and about 50% of that number has already been refurbished. Redistributing the masks however will take a number of years, with the Defense Ministry explaining the primary obstacle is budgetary.

Regarding the IDF, Lindenstrauss cites failures of the Second Lebanon War, reporting the military is ill-prepared against a chemical attack, calling on the IDF chief of staff to formulate a multi-year program and to allocate the purchase of modern equipment to protect against chemical attacks, as well as stepping up the education of combatants regarding chemical attacks.

The report documents the unacceptably short warning time provided by Israel’s early-warning detection systems, which he explains have not been updated and therefore, do not provide adequate time for citizens to react before an incoming projectile strikes the homefront.

The report also addresses other issues, such as the Jerusalem Envelope partition along the border areas of the capital, questioning the fact that the project hasn’t yet been completed despite the fact that NIS 3.7 billion has been allocated. According to IDF Brigadier-General Eren Ofir, 110km (66 miles) of partition have been constructed and by the end of 2009, an additional 50km (30 miles) will be completed.

The well-researched report found fault in other areas as well, but most unfortunately, the state comptrollers’ reports rarely do more than attract media headlines for a number of days and are then filed away and forgotten. They lack any legal authority and only serve as an internal audit of government activity, but do not legally compel any agency to adhere to its recommendations.

Some of the other topics addressed is the development of the Iron Dome short-range surface-to-surface missile early warning system and the Magic Wand medium range missile early warning system; the employment of retired IDF officers in the defense establishment; the lack of a warning system to prevent mid-air helicopter crashes despite the fact it has been 12 years since over 70 soldiers perished in a mid-air chopper crash; and citing fault in the professional training of some senior IDF officers, with an emphasis on the medical corps.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)