For the second time in a month, soldiers of the IDF’s Binyamin regional brigade have been called to a major exercise in which they will involved in dealing with drill scenarios in urban warfare. The drills involve sending soldiers door to door, facing down hostile populations, and maneuvering safely in the face of major rioting.

Involved in the drills are foot soldiers, as well as drivers of heavy vehicles, both transport and battle, and support personnel. The drills involved taking control of villages and limiting movement both inside and around villages.

The drills were being held despite the fact that they took place right before the holiday of Passover, when many soldiers are given leave to celebrate with their families – and despite the fact that similar drills were held just three weeks earlier.

According to Major Omri Yoetz, the Brigade’s Operations Department Officer, the need to conduct such exercises is constant, given the threats Israel faces. “The drills are taking place on all levels of the army, involving all units, brigades, and divisions,” he said. “We are drilling to deal with the most extreme situations, in order to ensure that we are not surprised if and when we are forced to deal with a real event.”

Among other things, the drill involved taking full control of a mock Palestinian village, “because we realize that we may very well have to deal with a situation like that in the future,” said Yoetz. “Without question we are much better prepared now to deal with these scenarios than we were previously.” Having said that, he added, “we realize that our main job is to ensure calm and that incidents do not get out of hand, and that is what we usually do on a day to day basis.”