'unannounced security exercise' underway all over Israel

[link to www.ynetnews.com]

An unannounced police drill involving other security forces caused huge traffic jams nationwide Thursday afternoon.

As part of the exercise, authorities blocked various roads in central Israel while police forces deployed nationwide en masse. The drill involves all of Israel's emergency and rescue forces, including the IDF, Shin Bet, Fire department, Magen David Adom, and Israel Prison Service.

Police officials say that a special administration was set up by the Border Guard in order to plan and prepare the major exercise in line with existing threats. Some parts of the drill required the use of civilian "extras" in order to simulate real-time events.

Among other roads, the Ayalon Freeway in Tel Aviv was blocked in some sections, as well as the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem Highway. Elsewhere, the Coastal Road was also blocked in one interchange, as police practiced their response to a major road accident.

The drill, codenamed Heavenly Angels, is being led by Police Commissioner Dudi Cohen as part of the police's regular training plan for preparing to face various threats. Police officials stressed that the exercise was not undertaken in response to any concrete information or threat.

The drill was kept secret until Thursday morning, and was expanded by afternoon, prompting especially huge traffic jams in Tel Aviv. Local resident Ofer told Ynet he never saw such unusual sight.
"I've been living here for 38 years and I've never seen anything like it," he said. "Tel Aviv is like a pedestrian mall; people are walking on the road like they do in Yom Kippur. Motorists are coming out of their cars."

"It's unclear why they didn't announce it in advance," he said. "I would have stayed home."