IDF expands community defense strategy with distribution of Israeli-made Arad rifles

Israel Defense Forces and the Ministry of Defense announced on Thursday that they had implemented the distribution of thousands of new Israeli-made advanced Arad rifles to border communities across the country. The rifles were handed over to the rapid response teams in those communities

In an official statement, the Defense Ministry stressed that the distribution of the rifles will "create a standardized, Israeli-manufactured defense system for rapid response teams." Along with the IDF, it stated that the move is "a significant milestone in Israel’s community defense strategy."

The acquisition of the new Israeli rifles "forms part of the Ministry and IDF Ground Forces Command’s broader initiative to bolster security capabilities in communities nationwide."

The initiative is part of Israel's wider post-Oct. 7 strategies to strengthen home front defenses, especially in geographically vulnerable border communities like those adjacent to Gaza, Lebanon and Jordan.

The Arad rifles, manufactured by Israel Weapon Industries (IWI), are valued at around $31 million (NIS 100 million) in total. The Procurement Directorate (DPD) Land Acquisition Unit was responsible for the signing of the contract.

IWI ranks as a world leader in innovative small arms systems that have been exported worldwide. Israeli authorities have already assessed that many local security teams were not properly armed or trained during the unprecedented Hamas Oct. 7 invasion and attack in southern Israel in 2023.

Israel’s emerging multilayered security strategy includes the establishment of buffer zones intended to make it more difficult for terrorists to carry out future attacks on border communities. However, Israeli decision-makers have concluded in the wake of the Oct. 7 attack that even highly secured borders, such as Israel’s border with Gaza, are not completely hermetic. The distribution of advanced, locally produced rifles is intended to serve as a second layer of defense against potential future incursions into Israeli border communities.

While Israeli defense officials have focused on the vulnerable Gaza and Lebanon borders, there are also growing concerns about a potential attack from Judea and Samaria, internationally known as the West Bank.

Following the Second Intifada terror campaign in the early 2000s, Israel built an extensive security fence along much of its border with Judea and Samaria to curb attacks on civilians. In recent years, however, Israeli security officials have increasingly warned that gaps in the barrier pose a potential future threat, citing several attacks inside Israel that have been carried out by Arab residents of Judea and Samaria who entered the country illegally through one of the gaps in the security fence.

Last month, Israeli lawmaker Oded Forer, chairman of the Committee for the Strengthening and Development of the Negev and the Galilee, issued a warning that these gaps in the security fence could result in future invasions.

“The writing is on the wall. Ignoring the gaps in the seam line could lead to another Oct. 7, this time in the Central Mountains,” Forer told local Radio Tzafon 104.5 FM. “You look at the seam line, you see the IDF [knows about] obvious routes, and these are routes known to the security establishment.”