When Israel faces its next military conflict, the IDF plans to call up reserves units that will be deployed in civilian areas to ensure that Arab Israelis do not interfere with military movements.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
The IDF is still disturbed by the events that erupted during Operation Guardian of the Walls against Hamas infrastructure in the Gaza Strip this past May, which included not only rioting and violence in mixed cities, but also attempts by Arab Israelis to carry out attacks on main roads and near sensitive installations.
Highway 31 near the Nevatim Air Force Base southeast of Beersheba was blocked off a few times during the May operation, and entrances and exits at the base, which is the IAF's largest, were restricted.
In the past, there have also been attempts to target armored vehicles on Highway 6 and a few other roads in northern Israel.
The military is concerned that in the next war, incidents like these will become more prevalent and could develop into organized attempts to block the movement of forces, block roads, and even infiltrate bases for the purpose of attacking soldiers or sabotaging sensitive equipment.
"We are focuses on offense, but could pay a heavy price in defense that will interfere with the plans for the offense," one senior IDF officer said.
In any war scenario, the IDF will need to move large contingents of personnel and equipment to the north and the south. Since the country has relative few highways suitable for this type of traffic, the movements are out in the open and exposed to attack. Thus, the threat is a double one – the enemy, who will try to focus its fire on convoys to prevent forces from amassing at the fronts (this is considered a particular threat in the scenario of a war against Hezbollah); and Arab Israelis, who could attempt to launch attacks on Israeli forces and weapons.
In light of these threats, the IDF is working on preparations for the next war, beyond the actual operational plans for the front lines.
The new plan will include three parts. The first has to deal with Border Police forces that will operate under the auspices of the IDF. The Border Police activities will take place in the main across Judea and Samaria, under the command of the IDF. In a state of emergency, the Israel Police will take command of these operations. During Operation Guardian of the Walls, there were a few days in which these Border Police companies were assigned to the police, but now the IDF's plan calls to transfer command as soon as the next military conflict erupts. This will require the IDF to call up reservists to operate in Judea and Samaria.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
The Border Police companies to be reassigned to the Israel Police will be deployed mostly in mixed cities, as patrol forces. The police will send them to various districts, based on situational assessments, and Border Police reservists could see emergency call-ups. A decision has already been made not to assign IDF personnel to back up the police in order to avoid a situation in which uniformed IDF troops would wind up using force against civilians to keep the peace.
The second part of the plan addresses the need to secure IDF missions. The military thinks that the police will be occupied by events in cities and will need to divert police personnel from all its units, including the Traffic Police, meaning that there will be fewer police available to secure roads and the areas around IDF bases.
This is where reservist battalions from the Homefront Command come in – who will receive emergency call-ups as soon as a war breaks out. The soldiers will be deployed across different regions and assigned to combat support as well as the civilian home front. Their main job will be to secure roads and military convoys to ensure that freedom of movement is not cut off.
"We understand that if in the past, a tank transport driver could have loaded a tank and driven feely from northern Israel to the south or the opposite, now he'll need security," the officer said.
Two weeks ago, outgoing head of the IDF's Technology and Logistics Division Maj. Gen. Itzik Turgeman said in an interview to Maariv that in the next war, the IDF would avoid moving forces through the Wadi Ara area to avoid clashes with Arab residents there. Turgeman's comments sparked considerable astonishment – not only because Israel cannot accept a situation in which the IDF is unable to maneuver freely in any part of the country, but also because it is possible to secure its forces. Alternatively, curfews can be utilized in villages and against civilians in cases where there are grounds to suspect that they will try to interfere with the movement of forces or armed vehicles.
The new plan is designed to address this issue. The third part of it, which has not yet been finalized, seeks to reach solutions that will increase the number of police available to handle events in Israel during a war, without backup from IDF soldiers.
One of the main lessons learned in Operation Guardian of the Walls was that Israel will need to implement these plans quickly, as soon as any military conflict begins. In any war scenario, the IDF will need to move large contingents of soldiers and equipment to the front, which will require massive movements throughout the entire country. This depends on freedom of movement and reduced threat on roads and at military bases.
"This is a new challenge we didn't have to deal with in the past, one that requires us to prepare now so we won't be surprised in the future," the IDF official said.
