Posted on 04/01/2002 2:40:37 AM PST by TomGuy
| Suicide bombers put Israeli guards on front line | |
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By Dan Williams
JERUSALEM, April 1 (Reuters) - Their ancient ancestors were
passed over by the angel of death, but the Exodus narrative
offered little comfort this Passover to Israelis charged with
guarding stores, hotels and restaurants against human bombs.
Five suicide bombings during the Jewish holiday celebrating
liberation from Egyptian bondage marked a record for this mode
of attack, turning private security men into the new frontline
in a Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation.
When a 55-year-old supermarket guard in Jerusalem challenged
a Palestinian woman on her way in, the young woman hit the
detonator on her bomb belt, killing the guard and another woman
outright. The police gave him a posthumous citation for bravery.
When a militant blew up an unprotected restaurant on Sunday
in the northern city of Haifa, its mayor told reporters he would
order all eateries to hire guards. The police echoed the call.
The incidents bolstered a boom in Israel's private security
industry, which has thrived during an economic slump caused by
the turmoil. But it also raised questions of who would want a
job with such risks, why -- and whether they are qualified.
A director of one bodyguard academy said market pressures
meant guards were being minimally trained and then sent to work.
"They hire people who are just looking for a job," Mikhail
Kuperstein told Israel Radio. "There is no preparation, people
come for some discussions and start at places...They go for a
course of a few hours and it ends there."
BEATING THEM TO THE BUTTON
Suicide bombers keep trigger switches in hand to detonate explosives under their clothes, the wires usually laced through their sleeves or pocket holes, according to Israeli police sources. Only a split-second interception might stop the blast. Israel's security services do not disclose their techniques for dealing with suspected suicide bombers. Lethal force is clearly one of them. In March, police shot dead a Palestinian who they said tried to set off a bomb-belt while being arrested. But security guards are taught to use guns as a last resort. "There's a definite problem with opening fire in a crowd," said Itay Gil, a close-combat instructor who specialises in private security training. "Apart from the human cost, hitting the wrong person could mean a lawsuit and even jail time." At Gil's Jerusalem studio on Sunday, guard candidates were practising non-lethal methods for use against suicide bombers. One was a standard arm-lock, another a shove from behind designed to force the bomber's arms away from his deadly load. A technique developed by Gil involved punching the bomber's knuckles to cause a reflex loosening of the fingers. In the studio demonstration, some of the "terrorists" using cigarette lighters as would-be triggers still managed to light them. "There are no perfect methods for dealing with this threat," Gil allowed. "The guard just hopes for minimal damage."
DEDICATION OR DEATH?
Even that was too much for one part-time security man. Michael Orkin, a 27-year-old student, was on duty inside a bustling Jerusalem cafe on March 9 when he spotted a young man with a heavy coat, bleached hair and a suspicious demeanour. "Our eyes met, and it was a sort of communication," Orkin said. "I shouted out 'Everybody down!' and ran at the terrorist. But no one really listened -- one guy even cursed me as I brushed by him. I had just enough time to shove the terrorist outside and dive to the floor before he blew up," he said. Orkin escaped with scrapes, but 11 people in the crowd outside the cafe died and another 54 were wounded in the spray of fire and shrapnel. A veteran of an elite Israeli infantry unit, Orkin said he had performed well under the circumstances. "It was a textbook response, but still some people were insinuating I hadn't done my job properly, that I was away from my post and slow to act. I feel betrayed," he said. On-the-job delinquency is not unheard of, however. After a suicide bomber killed 22 Passover celebrants in a hotel in the coastal city of Netanya on Wednesday, witnesses said the doorman had neglected to search the visitors, and that the Palestinian had paced the lobby freely before striking. A government official involved in registration of private security firms said hiring policies were going unmonitored. "There are two types of guards: part-time students who tend to be ex-military and reliable, or new immigrants who are not qualified to do anything else and just serve as human shields," the official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. Security guards are low paid, earning between 21 and 30 shekels ($4.50 to $5.50) an hour. A doorman at a Tel Aviv diner shrugged when asked if he felt properly equipped to defend patrons against death. "Terrorists want to kill as many people as possible," the guard said in Russian-accented Hebrew, declining to give his name. "Maybe the suicide bomber will see me and decide to choose an easier target instead." ((Jerusalem newsroom +972 2 537 0502, jerusalem.newsroom@reuters.com))
01 APR 2002 11:18:13 Suicide bombers put Israeli guards on front line
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