Some 20 Knesset employees have recently completed three-day search and rescue course to prepare Israel's parliament for a mass-casualty attack or natural disaster.
The training, provided by the Israel Defense Forces Homefront Command, will allow the employees to serve as de facto first responders in a major terrorist incident or similar calamity in both the Knesset as well as in the surrounding area, which includes government ministries, the Supreme Court, and the Bank of Israel.
The employees were given introductory training on how to use hydraulic tools that can lift objects up to 10 tons, jackhammers, emergency generators, lighting rigs and debris-removal equipment.
In the final exercise, participants arrived at a simulated earthquake disaster zone in an IDF base and were tasked with rescuing trapped 'victims' represented by manikins.
