The IDF and Israel Police will hold a joint security exercise this week as part of their routine operational collaboration. However, for the first time, the upcoming drill will see forces deploy in the Wadi Ara area, as well.
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Wadi Ara lies northwest of the Green Line, in the Haifa District. It is home to some 200,000 Arab Israelis and its towns are often the scene of civil unrest.
The exercise, which will also include the Border Police, will simulate rocket fire on Israel from Lebanon and the Gaza Strip during simultaneous unrest in Judea and Samaria. Scenarios include a domino effect that would see unrest further spill into Arab localities like Umm al-Fahm, Sakhnin, Nazareth, and the Bedouin community in the Negev, as well as mixed cities in Israel, such as Jerusalem, Haifa, Lod and Ramla.
The drill will see security forces cordon off Highway 65 in northern Israel, which runs through Wadi Ara.
"We are on high alert with respect to domestic security and riots, including any situation where external threats come into play," a senior police officer told Israel Hayom.
"The lessons of Operation Guardian of the Walls have made us formulate new operational and intelligence models with the IDF and Shin Bet to prevent a situation when we are caught off guard."
The exercise will also include the use of drones to deliver crowd control measures in case of serious riots, implementing new operational capabilities, and opening emergency supply depots in favor of reserve forces.
Other scenarios will see the police provide additional escort to military convoys traveling on compromised routes.
"We will know how to secure any emergency vehicle. We won't allow for a situation where vehicles travel nationwide under threat," he said.
The police are expected to take the lead in the drill whit the IDF taking its orders from police officers on the ground.
The exercise will also touch on Operation Safe Route, the codename given to the Israel Police's ongoing effort of curb the crime raging in the Arab sector.
Police sources said that one of the scenarios that will be emphasized during the drill the concern that weapons used by criminals in the Arab sector would wind up in terrorists' hands.
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