Israel Matzav

Hope you got your gas masks

About six weeks ago, I warned that the supply of gas masks would run out by April. Unfortunately, the supply all but ran out on Thursday. Incredibly, I have not seen this widely reported.

For procrastinators in Israel who want to be prepared in the event of a war: Thursday is the last chance for Israelis to acquire a free gas mask and chemical attack defense kit. The vast majority of distribution stations, which have been open for the past two years, located in cities throughout the country, will stop operating at the close of business on March 1. Only six stations will remain open.

Officials report large crowds at stations over the past few days, as Israelis seek the government-supplied protective gear in the wake of increased tensions with Iran. Several stations have already shut down because they have run out of the gas mask kits, Home Front Security officials said.

Some 4 million kits have been distributed in the past two years, but officials estimate that only about 120,000 remain in stock. Budgetary issues prevented the Homefront Command from acquiring more kits, and ad campaigns during the period stressed that there was a limited supply of kits. It is estimated that at least a third of Israelis do not have kits right now, and unless more money is allocated to the program, they will have to purchase the kits themselves. At least NIS 1 billion (about $350 million) is needed to acquire more kits, but even if the money is found quickly, it would take at least several months to manufacture the masks according to IDF specifications.

The fact that the government is about to run out of gas masks is surreal, and I would suggest that those of you in Israel who don't have them already try to get them from one of the six remaining locations or buy them even if they aren't IDF specification. It's too important.

Second, while Iran might have chemical and biological weapons, the real threat in that area is not Iran but Syria. And given Syria's current domestic situation, the threat isn't so much from Syria itself as from chemical and biological weapons that Syria provided to Hezbullah (or Hamas but I don't think Hamas has any) and from chemical and biological weapons that might be let loose if and when the Assad government falls.

I will be on the BBC Radio Sunday morning at 10:15 Israel time (8:15 in the UK) to talk about this issue and other matters relating to the potential Iranian threat. I will remind you again on Sunday.

Labels: gas masks, weapons of mass destruction

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:18 PM