Police at the gates and illegal aliens in the crosshairs: how the police are preparing for the start of the school year

Millions of students will return tomorrow, Tuesday, to schools and kindergartens. The police are preparing for the start of the school year with an increased deployment that begins with checkpoints and patrols and extends to the gates of educational institutions.

"We have identified our main challenges, which are first and foremost the prevention of hostile terrorist activity. The second issue is order and traffic," says Brigadier General Elad Klein, head of the Operations Department of the Israel Police.

According to him, this year the fear of friction against the backdrop of the election year is added to the preparations. "It is not just gatherings of children, teenagers, and parents arriving at schools. Since we are in an election year, there is also an expectation of potential friction." He noted that the deployment is intended to allow everyone to express their opinion "without friction and without unnecessary risk."

When asked what worries the police most ahead of the school year, Klein did not hesitate: "We are still defined as being at war. We are under alerts and facing significant tensions at regional and internal levels. Preventing hostile terrorist activity is what occupies us the most."

Klein clarified that there is no concrete alert regarding a specific terrorist attack for tomorrow, but emphasized that this threat is at the top of their operational priorities because it poses the most significant danger to human life.

The preparations will be felt from the early morning hours and are based on several layers of protection. "We will see police forces near most schools, at prominent intersections, crosswalks, and checkpoints. We have a layered system of protection, from barriers in the seam zone to police officers stationed directly at schools," Klein explained.

One of the issues occupying the police is the presence of illegal aliens in schools and at construction sites adjacent to educational institutions. "We have increased our activity in recent days to locate illegal aliens to prevent a situation where they are present in schools or nearby construction sites," said Klein.

Just today, nine illegal aliens were arrested in two police operations in Herzliya and Tel Aviv. Glilot station officers arrested three residents of Jenin, who were in Israel without permits, inside a school in Herzliya undergoing renovations. The employer was detained for questioning. In another operation by Tel Aviv North station officers, six residents of the territories were arrested at a construction site adjacent to a study center in the Old North neighborhood of Tel Aviv. Their employer was also detained.

Alongside security threats, the police are preparing for violence and criminal incidents among teenagers. "We continue to work on this constantly through our youth divisions and other units, focusing on both education and enforcement," Klein noted.

Before the start of the school year, the police are conducting preventive patrols around schools to guard against vandalism and theft of equipment. "We are investing in preventive patrols through volunteers and municipal policing to ensure that schools are ready for the first day of classes," said Klein.

Road safety is another focus. The police have been working with local authorities for several weeks to prepare roads for the safe passage of students. "Tomorrow we will focus more on traffic regulation, but we will also conduct enforcement and safety checks on shuttle vehicles," explained Klein.

Finally, Klein had a simple request for parents: talk to children about using cell phones. "Pay attention to how children walk in the street while immersed in their phones; this is a source of traffic danger. Simply explain to them that when they walk in the street, they should be aware of their surroundings and use phones wisely."