Israel to install 765 security cameras in Jerusalem

The Israeli ministry of public security, the police command and the Jerusalem municipality are planning to install new security cameras in Jerusalem, Israel Hayom newspaper revealed yesterday.

The paper said a surveillance and control centre will be established in the Jewish settlement of Gilo, in occupied southern Jerusalem, which will be administered by Israel Police.

According to the paper the Israeli surveillance project which will be expanded in the coming period aims to enhance security in the city of Jerusalem, allowing security authorities to receive images from hundreds of cameras.

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“In the first stage, the headquarters will be connected to 130 cameras belonging to the Ministry of Housing and to about 20 cameras belonging to the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. In the second phase about 250 cameras belonging to the Jerusalem municipality and 75 cameras belonging to the Department of Transportation will be connected to the project.”

According to the paper, “240 cameras will be deployed on the light train lines, 20 in the centre of the City of David and 10 in the centre of Shimon Hatzadik.”

Under the project, LPR cameras which are accurate cameras that scan car numbers and document every vehicle entering or leaving the city will be used.

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“The cameras will scan every citizen entering or leaving Jerusalem, track the vehicle numbers and convey a direct picture of the situation in the city,” a senior Israeli officer was quoted as saying.

“The deployment of these cameras is a leap in intelligence, because it will allow the police, for example, to know whether a suspicious has entered Jerusalem.”

A police tracking centre is currently operating in Jerusalem, but the cameras will only cover the Old City of Jerusalem and East Jerusalem.