IDFM203
12-09-2003, 02:27 AM
JERUSALEM - Israeli security and intelligence services are playing key roles in planning for the 2004 Athens Olympics, Israeli and Greek officials said Friday.
Fearing the international event could be a tempting target for terror attacks, Athens has budgeted more than $750 million on protecting the games. Greece also plans to deploy nearly 42,000 soldiers, police and other personnel.
Israel is one of seven countries helping Greece prepare its security plan for the Aug. 13-29 Olympics. The others are the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Australia and Spain.
A high level Israeli team, led by Israeli police chief Shlomo Aharonishky, visited Greece last month to help train the Greek forces, said Israeli police spokesman Gil Kleiman.
Kleiman said security evaluations have identified Greece's long coast line as a weak point, and Israel was also providing training for the Greek coast guard.
Security precautions for Greece took on an added urgency after a series of suicide bombings claimed by al-Qaida in neighboring Turkey last month.
Greece's Public Order Minister Giorgos Floridis told the Israeli Haaretz daily in an interview published Friday that "Israel is a key country with respect to providing intelligence information and training and drilling the Greek security forces.
Floridis said his country had turned to Israel for help in developing feasibility studies on security, developing plans for handling suicide bombers and getting information on terror groups and potential threats.
"We are preparing for two sorts of threats," Floridis told Haaretz. "Targeted threats by terror organizations against national delegations — for example a Chechen threat to the Russian delegation, or a Palestinian threat to Israel — and a comprehensive threat to the delegations and the games that originates with al-Qaida."
Haaretz reported that later this month a team from Israel's Shin Bet domestic intelligence agency would lead a training seminar for senior Greek officers in Greece and that officers from the Greek anti-terror unit had undergone training in Israel.
Kleiman declined to confirm these reports.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1312&ncid=1312&e=2&u=/ap/20031205/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_greece_olympics_1
Shalom :D
Fearing the international event could be a tempting target for terror attacks, Athens has budgeted more than $750 million on protecting the games. Greece also plans to deploy nearly 42,000 soldiers, police and other personnel.
Israel is one of seven countries helping Greece prepare its security plan for the Aug. 13-29 Olympics. The others are the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Australia and Spain.
A high level Israeli team, led by Israeli police chief Shlomo Aharonishky, visited Greece last month to help train the Greek forces, said Israeli police spokesman Gil Kleiman.
Kleiman said security evaluations have identified Greece's long coast line as a weak point, and Israel was also providing training for the Greek coast guard.
Security precautions for Greece took on an added urgency after a series of suicide bombings claimed by al-Qaida in neighboring Turkey last month.
Greece's Public Order Minister Giorgos Floridis told the Israeli Haaretz daily in an interview published Friday that "Israel is a key country with respect to providing intelligence information and training and drilling the Greek security forces.
Floridis said his country had turned to Israel for help in developing feasibility studies on security, developing plans for handling suicide bombers and getting information on terror groups and potential threats.
"We are preparing for two sorts of threats," Floridis told Haaretz. "Targeted threats by terror organizations against national delegations — for example a Chechen threat to the Russian delegation, or a Palestinian threat to Israel — and a comprehensive threat to the delegations and the games that originates with al-Qaida."
Haaretz reported that later this month a team from Israel's Shin Bet domestic intelligence agency would lead a training seminar for senior Greek officers in Greece and that officers from the Greek anti-terror unit had undergone training in Israel.
Kleiman declined to confirm these reports.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1312&ncid=1312&e=2&u=/ap/20031205/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_greece_olympics_1
Shalom :D