Comptroller Blasts Israel’s Bomb Shelter Preparedness

Israel’s State Comptroller has issued a blistering report on bomb-shelter availability, saying in a report released on Monday that about a quarter of a million citizens living close to the borders with Lebanon and the Gaza Strip lack adequate shelter. Those borders have heated up in recent days, seeing a clash with infiltrators from Lebanon’s Hizbullah last week and at least one rocket fired on Sunday night by Islamists in the Gaza Strip. According to the report, close to a third of all Israelis lack access to shelters although the figures show an improvement over a report issued in 2016. In decline, however, is the proportion of usable public shelters, with fully one-fifth deemed by the comptroller to be unsuited to the task. The military, which bears overall responsibility, says it is a matter of money, while figures in the Defense Ministry blame the problem on political instability and the resulting caretaker governments, which are barred from introducing new budgets. Israel had a caretaker government for about a year and a half starting in late 2018.