Source: AFP, 25-10-2007
Occupied al-Quds (Jerusalem): "Israel" will launch a public awareness campaign in the coming days focused on telling people what to do in the event of missile attacks, the "Israeli" Army said on Wednesday. Citing "lessons learned" from the 2006 war against Lebanon, in which Hizbullah fired more than 4,000 rockets at "Israel", the army said it is now focused on preparing people in advance of actual conflicts.
"The home front command has established a new method of raising awareness based on an information campaign to prepare the population to face emergency situations," an army spokesman told AFP.
The army will soon begin distributing recommendations to municipalities, including advice related to nonconventional attacks, according to "Israel`s" Yediot Ahronot newspaper.
"We have no concrete information about an imminent chemical attack, but it is worth taking advantage of a period of calm to prepare for it," the paper quoted the circular as saying.
Recommendations include stocking up on canned food, water, radios, batteries and plastic sheets and tape to cover windows and doors in case of an attack involving chemical weapons, the paper said.
"Israeli" inquiries into the government`s conduct during the 2006 war - in which more than 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and 140 "Israelis", mostly soldiers - were killed, slammed the defense establishment for failing to protect civilians.
Much of the infrastructure was overwhelmed when "Israel" decided to evacuate a million people from the northern part of the country.
In "Israel", both the government and army are responsible for providing services to civilians in time of war, from maintenance of public shelters to rescue, medical and basic administrative services.