IDF still waiting to receive full budget to return gas masks

“There are ... some budget problems, but I believe that we will reach every Israeli citizen over the next three years,” says OC Home Front Command.

By YAAKOV KATZ
gas mask 311 (photo credit: AP)
gas mask 311
(photo credit: AP)
Disagreements with the Treasury are holding up the distribution of gas masks to the Israeli public, IDF officers said Monday, a day after the Home Front Command began a pilot program in Or Yehuda to return the protective kits to the public.
OC Home Front Command Maj.-Gen. Yair Golan said Monday that due to budgetary constraints, full distribution of the masks would take years.
“There are ... some budget problems, but I believe that we will reach every Israeli citizen over the next three years,” Golan said.
The public will receive the same rubber gas mask issued in the past, but with a more effective filter against various chemical and biological threats. The syringe of Atropine included in past kits will not be reissued.
Under the plan, Postal Company representatives will contact homeowners and schedule a time to deliver the kits. Each family will be asked to pay a nominal sum of under NIS 20. The courier will also help fit the gas masks and explain how to use them. Those who prefer not to pay the fee will be able to pick up their kits from distribution centers located in each city.
In the event of a conflict, Golan said the IDF was prepared to takeresponsibility for distributing the masks back from the Israel PostalCompany.
He stressed that the decision to reissue the masks wasnot connected to a specific, immediate threat but was rather part of a“desire that every citizen should be prepared to the highest possiblelevel.”