Europe looks to Israel for private security after surge in terror attacks
Industry experts say the threat of urban terror is new to Europe, but not Israel, which is why demand has grown by some 30 percent since January's attacks in France.
By REUTERSA man holding a gun.(photo credit: screenshot)
The recent surge of terror-related incidents in Europe is pushing demand for security. Europe's schools, companies and religious institutions looking for trained, experienced high-end security personnel are turning to Israel to meet demands.At a recent training session, private security contractors from the Israeli firm Tactical Zone carried out a simulation that involved guarding a client who was under attack. In the wake of recent extremist attacks in Europe, the scenario as one security industry expert predicts may play out more frequently in the future."Today the world is less innocent, people start to understand, the threats and the dangers, and start to demand security," said Robby Said, general manager of security firm "Israel Special Forces".Said's company deploys trained security personnel to half a dozen countries worldwide. Demand surged after the recent violent attacks in France.He has teams who have served in undercover and elite military units, former military personnel with active-duty and real-time combat experience. Trained to survey and assess sites, they are adept at early threat detection and know how to act quickly and effectively if an institution comes under attack.Industry experts say the threat of urban terror is new to Europe, but not Israel, which is why demand has grown by some 30 percent since January's attacks in France."The first thought that I had is that if someone that is well trained, like an Israeli guy, or a personal security guard was there (in France), it would have been over very fast," said Ron Elmaliach, chief security instructor and CEO of security firm Tactical Zone.That level of protection is why security firms are hired in the first place, but for international clients taking on these services, the ultimate goal is to prevent these kind of attacks from happening altogether.
