State prepares for apocalyptic scenario: "Hundreds of thousands will remain on the sidewalk, not sure there will be hotels"
Interior Ministry Director General Israel Ozen gives an interview describing the challenges of managing the ministry without a serving minister, preparations for a mass earthquake scenario that could leave hundreds of thousands of evacuees without hotel accommodations, and lessons from the missile war against Iran. Ozen emphasizes the role of local authorities in emergencies and points to changes in the housing market, including growing demand in the periphery.
Interior Ministry Director General Israel Ozen gives an interview to 'Maariv' describing the complex challenges of managing the ministry during a period without a serving minister. Ozen explains that he is required to fulfill both the minister's role in setting policy and the director general's role in execution, while splitting his attention and investing many hours. He notes that the situation has an advantage in allowing him to set the agenda directly, but he is also required to handle ceremonies and policy decisions that are usually the minister's responsibility. In the area of emergencies, Ozen describes lessons from the missile war against Iran. According to him, in the first round, impacts were concentrated in strong authorities in the center of the country, which were better prepared. He admits it was "luck" that the impacts did not hit weak authorities, as then the country would have looked completely different. In the second round, impacts were more dispersed but more pinpoint. The main topic of the interview is preparation for a significant earthquake scenario. Ozen reveals that the Interior Ministry, together with the Defense Ministry and the National Emergency Authority, is preparing for a scenario where hundreds of thousands of people could find themselves "on the sidewalk." He divides evacuees into two groups: those whose homes were actually damaged, and those who would fear returning to their homes even if undamaged. The main difficulty, he says, is that unlike war, in an earthquake scenario it is not certain that hotels can be used. On the housing market, Ozen points to the problem of the gap between the pace of home construction and the pace of infrastructure development, and emphasizes the need to expand transportation systems like the metro and light rail. He notes a phenomenon of growing demand in the periphery, in cities like Yeruham, Ofakim, and Netivot, attributing it to roof agreements and investment in infrastructure.