About two months after taking office, Deputy Superintendent Tomer Eldar, commander of the Southern Border Police, believes he is the right person in the right place to deal with the challenges of the moment. On the other hand, in an interview with Israel Today, .
Elder came from the tactical division, "Breaking Equality," he said.
During these years he says that he acquired the necessary tools to deal with crime.
This is a unit composed of people from the IDF, the IDF and fighters from IDF patrols.
What changes are going to take place
in the southern border
following the new reality?
"When Chief Amir Cohen took office, he realized that a change was needed in the Border Police in the south.
We put the existing forces into the organization of operational arms, with a deputy commander-in-chief on each of them.
The idea is to advance in command and control capabilities, and for these teams to be ready for collection, documentation and incrimination tasks.
It's no longer just a reinforcement of a team here, a team there.
We understand that we are in a different story, and one of the big changes is in the area of accepting responsibility and bringing results. "
On the manpower gaps that Lt. Col. Eldar claims exist in the organization he recounts that “there are far more missions than there are cops, there is far more intelligence than my ability to respond to it.
"Obviously I would like to double the Southern District and the Southern Border. Then I could get to a lot more villages and activities."
Disruptions in the Arab sector, Photo: Yossi Zeliger - Archive
The war on illegal weapons in the South is not always appreciated.
"I do not fight only for a gun, I fight for every bullet and every cartridge, every object and every helmet. We fight for all weapons, and whoever thinks we are entering and the weapons are waiting for us in the living room - just do not understand the great effort. More than 100 were collected in this space. "Weapons only this year - guns, pistols, explosives and grenades. This is a large amount, and a lot of force is invested for it."
Difficulty in internal struggles
"We have the conflicts we know in the sector: one family quarrels with another and a rift begins. In the end they show power by violence. The result is often that uninvolved victims. The great complexity is that there is not much cooperation within the sector. Even if 1,000 people witness shootings There is zero evidence. It should also be remembered that the police are not the only ones in the chain.
"In the end, it shatters the Border Police and the Israel Police, but we have a lot of squads in front of us. For example, when you do not invest in enforcing polygamy, it is a serious incident. At first, they filed indictments but they learn very quickly. The children are 'from my wife and two girlfriends'. This affects the allowances and social security that these single women receive. Another example is the use of cash. "Searching the tents, we can see a woman with a piece of bread, who has nothing in the house but a mattress on the floor, and then you suddenly find NIS 300,000 in cash."
On the fight against drugs, Elder shares that "only our force has captured more than 400 incubators of drugs. We destroyed everything, and we are working hard on this thing. Here, too, we are working with several elements, including the Nature Authority, the Green Patrol and anyone who can help."
Document Boiling Furniture: Spraying a Pharmacy - and Photographing // Photo: Amar Asadi
How do you fight the theft of weapons from the bases?
"I will mention the Southern Border Police, which is working on this issue.
About three months ago, a very large amount was stolen from the Natan camp, where we seized the detainees and the vehicle.
These are hundreds of weapon parts from which you can assemble dozens of weapons.
The same weapon that is stolen from the base comes after that to an event that is our responsibility, and it shatters on us.
We have the CBS unit, and we are now preparing an entire company that is going to sit in Tze'elim to deal with this phenomenon. This is an area saturated with events. Also in terms of drug incubators, most of which are in this area "He sees Kitbag, he sees equipment and a reservist, he makes one and another, and he earns another cartridge and another bullet that can be sold."
Between results and feelings
As for the lack of sense of security among the residents, Elder insists on separating the results on the ground from the citizen's feelings: "The feeling of insecurity is already changing for the better."
He says the numbers support this: "We are talking about 2,000 detainees and detainees this year, about dozens of seizures on the agricultural side, with every incident we go with all our might, bouncing trackers, investigators and skimmers. "Percentages in arrests in the last year, an increase of 86 percent in arrests until the end of proceedings. As for agricultural crime, we are down by 13%."
On the criticism regarding the five border fighters who robbed and abused Palestinians last year, Eldar claims that "the Border Police makes a lot of efforts, we put the commander on the table as an educator and leader.
"Not only a knife between the teeth from an operational point of view, but also with a thinking head."
