State comptroller slams ‘failures’ in protecting passengers from terrorism

Bureaucratic foot-dragging is jeopardizing the lives of airline passengers, the state comptroller’s annual report revealed on Tuesday.

In a section of his report on active protection of passenger flights, State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss criticized the state’s failure to fit passenger planes with defense systems, meant to protect passengers from terrorists’ shoulder-fired anti-aricraft missiles, calling the project an „ongoing failure.”

The installation of the defense system has been in the works since 2002. The need for active passenger protection rose in November 2002 when two shoulder-fired missiles were launched at an Israeli passenger plane in Kenya. Then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon initiated the project following the incident, and two defense systems have since been tested, but not a single plane has been fitted with the protective device due to a long series of setbacks.

Senior officials involved in the passenger plane protection project have classified the installation of these defense systems as important and essential. However, the comptroller found that the project had been carried out inefficiently on behalf of the successive transportation ministers, finance ministers and Prime Minister’s Office directors who have overseen the project since 2003.

„I view with grave severity this situation in which, despite repeated warnings of danger to civilian aviation, and despite declarations by prime ministers over the years, there is still a gap between the severity of the threat and the implementation of protection,” the comptroller wrote in the report. „The result of the ongoing delay in installing the defense systems on planes could be tragic.”

The defense establishment issued a response to the report, with one official explaining that one of the proposed defense systems had been ruled out „due to regulatory and operational considerations abroad.” The other potential defense system had been approved for installation but the project was moving ahead „within the budgetary constraints.”

Lindenstrauss presented Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin with his annual report on Tuesday. Lindenstrauss is scheduled to end his post on July 4.

„In addition to this report, I will submit two other reports to the Knesset speaker,” Lindenstrauss said to Rivlin. „One deals with the Harpaz affair and will be completed in a few days, and the other one dealing with the Carmel forest fire will be ready within a month. The [Carmel] report is almost done; we only need to include the testimony of one more person.”

Lindenstrauss is also expected to submit a report concerning trips abroad taken by prime ministers, ministers and deputy ministers of the last two governments. Within the framework of this report, Lindenstrauss investigated trips taken by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyau as well.

Describing his annual report, the state comptroller said, „This report is the largest one so far, and it includes chapters that deal with criticism of government offices as well as the defense establishment. Special attention was focused on the weaker elements of society.”

The retiring comptroller pointed out that the report contains „unique topics such as the haredi [ultra-Orthodox] sector, haredi service in the Israel Defense Forces and a protective system for armored military vehicles.”

Rivlin praised Lindenstrauss and his work and said the comptroller „turned criticism into a nearly independent institution, presenting criticism in real-time.”

Commenting on the latest report, State Control Committee Chairman MK Roni Bar-On (Kadima) said, „The conclusions and findings of the special Harpaz and Carmel reports must be publicized, even during a time of elections, with special attention to the behavior of government officials during those events.”

The Harpaz affair began in August 2010 when Lt. Col. (res.) Boaz Harpaz was suspected of involvement in the forgery of the „Galant document,” which outlined fictitious plans to damage the reputations of senior Israeli Defense Forces officers. The purpose of the forged document was to persuade people that Yoav Galant, who was a candidate for chief of general staff, had hired a public relations firm to besmirch the other candidates.