New Israeli Brigade created to face possible uprising in Israeli cities
The reserve brigade was agreed upon to face any situation similar to the events of May 2021.
(photo credit: WISAM HASHLAMOUN/FLASH90)
Jerusalem24 – Israeli Minister of Internal Security Omer Bar-Lev and Defense Minister Benny Gantz agreed to create a reserve brigade of the border police to deal with any incidents inside Israel’s cities.
During the aggression on the Gaza Strip last May, a wave of protests and demonstrations took place in what Israelis call mixed-cities.
According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz in its issue today, this agreement is part of the lessons learned from the events that took place all across the territories, in which the Israeli police suffered from a severe shortage of manpower, equipment for reservists, vehicles and weapons.
According to political analyst Yasser Manaa’ in a conversation with Jerusalem24, the Israeli government did not expect the Palestinians in Israel to clash with their authority.
Manaa’ said that Palestinians inside Israel are exposed to what he called “Israelization,” as such the most they expect from Palestinians in Israel is to protest or express solidarity.
Manaa’ says that, “they did not expect an uprising and considered what happened to be a strike to the social fabric of Israel.” He adds, “there were calls within Israeli political echelons and society for the army to intervene.”
The agreement stipulates that the new brigade will include 11 divisions and will join the 16 divisions of the border police reserve. It is expected to begin operations next year.
As for the Israeli police, they have recently equipped themselves with new methods of dispersing demonstrators as part of the lessons learned from the events in the cities.
Yesterday, the Knesset’s Internal Security Committee held a debate on the lessons of the Israeli police from the events that took place in those cities during the month of May. The police representative admitted that they were not prepared for confrontations of this size, they lacked any intelligence information and suffered from a shortage of personnel.
According to Israeli police data, during the 12 days in May, clashes erupted in 520 hotspots throughout Israel and the West Bank. During which 297 police vehicles were damaged, 11 of which were burned and 23 police facilities were also damaged.
