Israel’s First Line of Defense

Stand for Israel  |  May 13, 2019

Two armed soldiers looking directly at the camera.

Surrounded on all sides by enemies who seek her destruction, Israel must be wary of anyone or anything crossing into Israeli territory. The ability to quickly respond to threats that are hidden is one way in which the IDF keeps Israel safe. JNS’ Yaakov Lappin tells us of a recent instance in which a soldier’s hunch kept a massacre from happening:

When a Palestinian vehicle pulled up at the Azaim Crossing point between Jerusalem and the West Bank on April 9, the day of Israel’s national elections, the two Military Police officers guarding the site had a feeling something was wrong.

Sgt. Michael Sivan and Sgt. Roman Ambar approached the vehicle and saw that the male driver was behaving in a suspicious manner—he was hesitant, fearful and acted with insecurity—they said. They diverted the driver to a lane where more in-depth security checks occur.

When they opened the trunk of the car, they discovered two M-16 automatic assault rifles, a Galilee assault rifle and hundreds of ammunition rounds. The policemen cocked their weapons and arrested the man, passing him on to the Shin Bet for questioning.

“I always had a motivation to get drafted to this role. When these incidents occur and you understand what you did, the motivation only grows. My friend Michael and I handled this incident together throughout, cooperating with a clear objective,” Sgt. Roman Ambar told JNS.

The ability to quickly identify hidden threats and respond in time is a core part of Military Police training, but it is also a skill that develops over time in the field, a Military Police company commander explained…

“It very much depends on the gut feeling of soldiers,” said Charash. “Training teaches us to identify all sorts of suspicious activity—an ability that makes our work easier. Yet with time, we start developing a gut feeling, and we pay attention to details, to things that look a little suspicious. We don’t want to take any chances. Especially when our mission is to defend the State of Israel and its residents…”

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