Special to WorldTribune.com

TEL AVIV — Israel’s military, besieged by missile threats from
several fronts, is seeking to enhance civil defense.

The military has been testing a range of commercial technologies to
bolster protection against missile strikes.

The military has been stymied by government budget cuts in plans to build shelters and bunkers to protect civilians during a missile war. Instead, the military has been allowed to design less-costly means that could be sold to Israelis.

Officials said the military’s Home Front Command wanted to determine which household items would provide
additional protection to civilians.

“This coming February the Home Front Command will stage a test in the
Negev of a variety of technologies for protecting civilians under rocket
attack,” the military said.

In a statement on Nov. 13, the military said it was testing a so-called
“protected bed” that could defend against missile attacks from such places
as the Gaza Strip or Lebanon, Middle East Newsline reported. The item looks like a standard bed but can be
transformed into mini-shelter during a missile war.

The effort has been headed by the Home Front’s Engineering Branch.
Branch director Lt. Col. Yitzhak Zarko said his unit was also testing a
metal closet that could also protect civilians from missile shrapnel and
other debris.

“The metal closet as designed by the Home Front Command would cost
around 10,000 shekel [$2,690] and is prohibitively heavy,” the military
said. “The bed, as now designed, would also cost around 10,000 shekel.”

“After the successful demonstration of the bed and closet next February,
the Home Front Command plans to make the designs available to Israeli
manufacturers with the idea that they will produce economical variants that
could be sold to the general public,” the military said.

  Affordable civil defense: Israel eyes ‘protected beds’, Gaza Strip, Home Front Command, Lt. Col. Yitzhak Zarko, metal closets, West Bank