Gas masks – memories from the first Gulf War
Photo: GPO
Israelis to bid gas masks farewell
After endless delays, Defense Ministry issues tender for collecting gas masks handed out to Israelis
Do you remember where your gas mask is? Israelis who do not remember where they put their government issued gas masks will have to start looking for them soon, with the Defense Ministry set to issue a tender Monday for collecting the masks from residents' homes.
The tender will be issued following endless delays and discussions, as the Defense Ministry prepares to finally collect the masks, three years after the opening of the war in Iraq.
A Defense Ministry source told Ynet: "There are 6.8 (gas mask) kits out there, and we'll aim to collect as many as possible. We'll refurbish the ones we can, and the others we'll have to throw away."
The first tender to collect the masks was issued in the summer of 2004 but was not followed through as a result of various disagreements among Knesset members.
The kits, which were opened by citizens on the orders of the defense establishment for fear Iraq would fire non-convention missiles at Israel during the war, have been gathering dust at Israelis' homes. IDF officials have previously expressed their fury over the delay in collecting the masks. In 2005, a senior IDF officer said masks must be collected as soon as possible and added that the failure to do so is costing the country NIS 50-100 million (about 11-22 million dollars) per year.
With the new tender about to be issues, officials are convinced the task of collection all masks will be completed within a year and a half.
"We believe that many companies will show interest in the tender," a Defense Ministry source said. "This month, we will hold a conference for the companies in which we will present the criteria. As a rule, one company will win the tender. That company will collect the kits from the homes, transport them to temporary accommodations for a short time, we will then check them, and transfer what we can for refurbishing."
The source added: "They can go door to door, give rewards to those who return the masks, or advertise in the press. We'll create incentives for the company – the more kits they collect in a shorter period of time the better."
The defense establishment does not want to wait for the next war or next threat and will therefore refurbish all masks that can be fixed.
"We will ask the company to maintain exact records, including of those who have no kit, and that way we can in the end estimate how many kits we collected," the source said.
