Israel is inadequately prepared for a possible chemical weapon attack, according to the Homefront Defense Ministry's recently released annual report. "As of 2012, the readiness level of government office and state authorities for an unconventional weapon attack stands at low-medium," the report said. It said Israel faces a high risk of a terrorist chemical attack and a medium risk of a radiological attack. On May 27, the Homefront Defense Ministry, Israel Defense Forces Homefront Command and local authorities are scheduled to carry out a drill on dealing with a chemical attack. The exercise will include two sirens being sounded throughout the country, one around noon and the other in the evening. It had been scheduled to take place in the beginning of the month, but due to tensions on the Syrian border, a result of what foreign reports have said were two Israeli airstrikes in Syria, the exercise was delayed. The international community and Israel in particular have been increasingly worried about Syrian chemical weapon usage, as the civil war continues to rage across the country and the regime loses control of even more weapon systems. According to foreign reports, chemical weapons have being used in the fighting. The real fear is that terrorist groups such as Hezbollah or other jihadist groups would get their hands on Syria's large chemical weapon stockpiles. The Homefront Defense Ministry report reflects the current fears, saying that there are numerous indicators of terrorist organizations trying to get their hands on nonconventional weapons. The report reflected another common perception, that Israel's readiness to deal with a chemical weapon attack is not high. One of the central issues is that only 60 percent of Israeli citizens have nonconventional warfare protection kits, which include age-appropriate gas masks, and that due to budget shortfalls there are not enough kits in storage. There is also a shortage of gas masks adjusted for bearded men. In 2012, Israel Hayom reported that the Homefront Defense Ministry had run out of funds to manufacture more kits, requiring an 80 million shekel ($22 million) transfer to keep production going. Homefront Defense Minister Gilad Erdan told Army Radio Thursday that the Syrian government would not risk using chemical weapons on Israel. "Syria would not dare turn its chemical weapons on Israel," Erdan said. "The Syrian regime and other groups in the area understand all too well the difference between using conventional weapons against Israel and using chemical weapons. The IDF's power to retaliate is immense, and if we are talking about the possibility of such weapons being used against Israel, well, then the chances are not high."
