IDF soldiers expose Gaza 'terror tunnel' (fil
IDF soldiers expose Gaza 'terror tunnel' (filIDF Spokesperson Unit

IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Benny Gantz has decided to freeze the decision to fire the security officers of Gaza Belt communities and to reduce others to part-time employment, reported Channel 2.

The decision comes just one day after the heads of local government councils in the Gaza Belt received letters from the Home Front Command, informing them that the security officers – known as “ravshatzim” in a Hebrew acronym that means “military security coordinator” – will be fired or have their employment status degraded.

The need for the ravshatzim, who are civilians employed by the army, was demonstrated in the course of Operation Protective Edge, when it turned out that terrorists had constructed terror tunnels into Israeli territory and could have mounted large scale murderous attacks on civilian communities with relative ease.

Even after Protective Edge, there have already been at least two cases in which terrorists infiltrated into Israel from Gaza. One of these was foiled by an alert ravshatz from the community of Shokeda. He, too, was among those who were supposed to be reduced to part time employment before the decision was reversed at the last moment.

Tamir Idan, the Head of the Sdot Negev Council, expressed his satisfaction with the decision and thanked Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon for averting the dismissal of the ravshatzim.

“I am certain that after holding another discussion on the topic, the security establishment will decide upon new instructions that will take into account the security situation and the threat of infiltration into the communities,” he said.

That threat remains as revealed in several reports, showing that Hamas and Islamic Jihad have already begun construction to rebuild the terror tunnels leading into Israel.