The state is funding a nine-day homeland security training program in Israel for two top Maryland Transit Administration police officers, officials said Tuesday.

Israel is known as one of the world leaders in counterterrorism initiatives, MTA officials said. The security program is designed to help American law enforcers observe some of the Middle Eastern country's counter-terrorism initiatives and apply them in the United States upon their return.

The 15 police and security workers participating in the seminar have toured a power plant, port and shopping mall in the city of Tel Aviv. They are planning trips to an airport and the old city part of Jerusalem later this week, officials said. The law enforcement officers will return to the United States on Saturday.

MTA Police Chief Colonel Douglas DeLeaver and Lt. Col. Richard Wheeler joined 13 law enforcement workers from across the United States on a nine-day training program in Israel. The training session, offered by Security Solutions International, has a $3,700-per-person price tag, DeLeaver said.

The homeland security training is worth the state expense, DeLeaver said during a telephone interview Tuesday from Israel. "It's a great opportunity to return with new technology for Maryland," added Holly Henderson, a spokeswoman for MTA.

"My time here has been very fruitful," DeLeaver said.

This is DeLeaver's second trip to Israel for security training. After his last trip, he applied Israeli anti-terrorism techniques to Maryland's mass transit system.

More than 300,000 commuters -- 30,000 are school children -- use Maryland's transit system daily, DeLeaver said.

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