The IDF and the Israel Police will, for the first time, establish reserve Border Police units in order to deal with violence in mixed cities in Israel, Israel Hayom reported.
The purpose of the new units is to keep the peace in cities with mixed Arab-Jewish populations during future wars.
The decision to establish the units was made as part of the lessons learned from Operation Guardian of the Walls when several cities across Israel were rocked by Arab riots. The police were overwhelmed and ill-equipped to deal with the widespread violence, and Border Police units were moved from Judea and Samaria to the affected cities a few days after the riots began. However, this was a one-time solution and not a permanent solution.
Following the May Gaza war, the IDF Operations Division, together with the Israel Police, worked to draw lessons from the operation for the future. One of the lessons which was decided on was the immediate transfer of command over Border Police units to the Israel Police from the IDF. Another is to draw upon troops from the Homefront Command to replace police to secure IDF bases and convoys.