NOURNEWS - In a study by Rami Ahmed, the Institute for Egyptian Studies examines the "effects of the COVID crisis on the security and military aspects of Israel" in five sections:
Security and military preparations against Corona:
Netanyahu has replaced the air force with air and sea freight by involving the army and intelligence and security agencies in the process of countering Corona, even without obtaining a permit. The Army tasked the army with disinfecting buses, trains, and public institutions. Thousands of soldiers also enforced curfews and restricted traffic throughout Israel. Netanyahu tasked Shabak (The Israel Security Agency) with monitoring the coronavirus through the establishment of the National Center for Information and New Technologies, which worried Israelis about invading their privacy, to the extent that with the spread of the second wave of the Corona, the National Intelligence Center expanded and was able to access civilian bank accounts. Mossad (the national intelligence agency of Israel) was also tasked with assisting the Ministry of Health in meeting the equipment and medicine needs to deal with Corona. A Mossad officer revealed that Mossad had used unusual methods, even theft, to obtain large quantities of medical equipment.
The Impact of the Corona on Israel's Security and Military Challenges:
With the outbreak of the Corona crisis, Zionist officials are constantly examining the impact of this pandemic on the countries of the region from different aspects. The Israeli military intelligence (Aman) estimates that the crisis will have a direct impact on the financing and arming of armed groups in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, particularly in Iran, Syria and Lebanon. To the extent that the Mossad spy service has concluded that Iran is no longer an imminent security threat to Israel due to the outbreak of the Corona virus in it, as Tehran has turned its attention to fighting the epidemic. Restrictions around the world, on the other hand, are forcing Mossad to make emergency decisions to postpone or cancel many intelligence security tasks.
Impact of Corona on Army readiness and training programs:
As long as restrictions on combat training and exercises continue, it can be expected long-term effects on the effectiveness of Israeli combat. The author adds that the corona epidemic has reduced Israeli military training. Of course, some military exercises, including the Army General Staff exercise, were still held in three days instead of one week. According to the Chief of Staff of the Army, with this situation, the army will gradually lose the ability to fight, cohesion and cooperation between its units in a short period of time. Israeli officials say the Corona epidemic has undermined Israel's national security as many army units now suffer from manpower shortages.
Impact of Corona on Israeli military expenditures and programs:
Corona threatens the army budget due to its direct and indirect costs for the Zionist regime's budget. After controlling the epidemic, the government will have to invest large sums of money to revive the economy. The military's budget and long-term plans, in particular the "Five-Year Drive" (Tenufa) plan, will be affected. It has also accelerated austerity measures that were to be implemented in later stages. The implications also dealt a severe blow to the future armaments dimension of the plan, blocking many of the plan's defense and offensive systems, which must be developed in the coming years to modernize Israel's military and bring it into line with the plan's goals. Make sure.
Security and military failures in the Corona crisis:
Referring to the regular military and security exercises of the occupying army, the author writes that it seems that the effects of the corona in Israel include security and military failures and concerns beyond the health and livelihood aspects. The report of the State Inspector states that the tools used by the Public Security Agency have not been able to carry out the mission of identifying persons in contact with coronary arteries. Therefore, there is a concern that this failure will undermine public confidence in the military establishment and lead to an exchange of accusations between the military and the political establishment and tensions between the military and society, which may erode Israel and lead to a major failure, it can even politicize crisis management and severely undermine public confidence, which has accepted the view that the military is responsible for breaking the disease transmission chain.
NOURNEWS