Severe Gas Mask Shortage Despite War Warnings

There are two reasons for this:

1. Israel's welfare state mentality that encourages impossible-to-fill expectations (like free nursing homes for all and subsidies for ballet tickets and bread). This causes shortages in every government service as well as pervasively low quality. Additionally, the government's real tasks, like national security, invariably suffer.

2. Israel's current leadership is composed of its worst traders in cronyism and corruption ever. The announced release of 250 Fatah terrorists is viewed only from a personal profit basis only, so national security concerns are tertiary at best. Those who try to convince the leaders that it will inevitably lead to many more murders are wasting their breath.

While tension is mounting in the Golan Heights and senior defense officials are warning of the possibility of imminent war with Syria, less than 50 percent of the population will have their gas masks renewed by the end of the year, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

The cabinet on Sunday decided to cut NIS 480 million from the overall defense budget - mostly from administrative expenses - and instead redirect the funds to the Home Front Command and for defense procurement.

In total, the defense establishment received in Sunday's decision NIS 400 million for procurement of new weaponry and military platforms as well as NIS 344m. for the home front, out of which NIS 110m. is designated for the renewal of gas masks.

Syria is believed to have a large stockpile of chemical and biological weapons. According to the Global Security Web site, the Syrian arsenal is comprised mostly of large amounts of Sarin and mustard gas and is reportedly producing and weaponizing VX. The US, the report says, has estimated Syria to possess several hundred liters [sic] of chemical weapons with hundreds of tons of agents produced annually.

Acknowledging that the population's gas masks will not be renewed and effective for at least another two years, defense officials told the Post Sunday that the IDF Home Front Command was currently considering proposals, if the need arises, to make emergency purchases of gas masks from Israeli and American companies.

If war were to break out in the coming months, the Home Front Command would only have enough gas masks for 1.5 million adults and half-a-million children.

The shortage in gas masks stems from a 2003 Defense Ministry decision to collect the public's gas masks, a project that only began at the beginning of 2007. Due to a lack of funds, the project was recently suspended and is expected to be renewed - following Sunday's government decision - in the coming weeks.

"This situation could be interpreted as neglect," a senior official told the Post. "If war breaks out and non-conventional weapons are used then we could find ourselves in a major crisis."