It was a day full of meetings for Benny Gantz.
The middle of October this year.
The focus was on the affairs of the Syrian arena, the West Bank and Iran.
Already in the morning, senior officials of the Operations Division at the IDF General Staff presented data according to which, since the beginning of Gantz's term as Defense Minister, the Air Force has attacked dozens of Iranian targets in the Syrian region. Those operations for which Israel does not take responsibility. This does not include other secret operations far from the country's borders that do not even receive expression in the media Toward evening, Gantz's secured convoy arrived at the Shin Bet facility in the center of the country for a meeting with the field personnel of the Jerusalem region as well as Judea and Samaria, in the capacity of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar. It was a security situation assessment conversation and updates. The Shin Bet pointed to two explosive hotspots: Nablus and Jenin - with an emphasis on the refugee camp.
Most of the attention in that discussion was directed to the "Lion's Den" activists from the Kasbah in Nablus, who carried out shooting attacks almost every day.
The politicians, who were at that time immersed up to their necks in the election process, called for the use of aircraft for targeted attacks and even for the operation of the stealth aircraft (F-35) to eliminate the problem.
However, Gantz was not moved and held a series of meetings and thought processes with the top of the IDF in an attempt to crack down on the phenomenon. This, in a way that does not inflame Yosh but does collapse the armed organization that gained sympathy on the Tik-Tok network.
The funeral of Wadi al-Hoch, one of the leaders of the Lions' Den (Photo: Reuters)
"They did a 'star' activity," Gantz said in one of the discussions held on the subject.
"They sit inside the Kasbah of Nablus and from there - in a place where they feel a 'safe haven', they carry out attacks in the area. In one of them, a Givat patrol soldier Ido Baruch was killed. This is the organization that sent a terrorist to the attack in Tel Aviv, which was prevented thanks to the vigilance of the police on the spot, and the placing of an explosive device at the gas station in Kedumim I am not ready for there to be cities of refuge. There is no place that will not be accessible to the IDF."
The Minister of Defense came to the meeting with the Shin Bet members with his head in mind looking for the right way to dislodge the "lion's den".
"Sometimes bending too much can break something you didn't want," Gantz said to one of the senior IDF officers who presented him with three different alternatives for action - among them a divisional operation that would likely end in a large number of deaths on the Palestinian side and create tensions that could deteriorate into more deadly attacks.
IDF and Shin Bet forces activity in Nablus against the terrorist infrastructure of Gov Aryot, October (Photo: Reuters)
The intelligence information presented by the Shin Bet personnel was of high quality and accurate. It touched on the behavior of the "Lion's Den" commanders, the hiding apartments, the methods of operation, the methods of fraud and their ability to monitor what was happening in the Kasbah and on the main routes on the way to Nablus. The armed operatives placed street cameras, set up a camp. to the sea in hiding apartments and activated assistants and observers whose job it is to report any suspicious occurrences in the area - with an emphasis on IDF activity. This, for fear of infiltrating the Kasbah which has become their stronghold.
Gantz expressed great appreciation for the Shin Bet's field personnel - they had a clear message: they had intelligence information Solid and high quality, which will be used for the operation in the heart of the Kasbah of Nablus.
This, despite the large number of armed men and the ability of the Palestinians to monitor every step in the area.
The more the security system promotes such a complex operation, the more it will be possible to thwart immediate intentions of the "Lion's Den" to carry out attacks in the rear of the State of Israel and not only in Samaria.
It will also be possible through the special operation to convey a message to all armed men in the West Bank.
"There is no safe place for anyone," said one of the Shin Bet officials at the hearing.
that they will understand that each of them is under a hunt.
That they will be shocked by the Israeli courage to act on the ground and not from the air."
The operation against the lion's den in Nablus: documentation of the fighters' activities (IDF spokesman)
Gantz would later say in one of the debates that this inter-level dialogue with the Shin Bet, unlike other hierarchical security systems in the world, was what helped him to deeply understand what was happening right at the end of the street in the Kasbah. A special promotion that will bring effective results.
In less than a week, the
Minister of Defense was urgently summoned to the Shin Bet facility again, but this time for approval of the operational plan, and was forced to cancel interviews in the media without informing why.
Step by step, including security circles for the IDF soldiers in case of a deterioration, as well as alarmed forces in the event of gunmen escaping from the apartment. Shin Bet personnel clarified that the building itself is surrounded by a large number of cameras and that there are explosives in the area ready to be activated.
A laboratory for the production of explosive charges was set up in the apartment itself, and armed helpers were put on standby in case of an intrusion into the Kasbah.
The Lions Den terrorist organization (photo: official website, --)
"The place was so secure that even the Palestinian security forces were afraid to enter the Kasbah of Nablus in order not to run into armed men," said a security official at one of the discussions.
"What turned the tide was the Shin Bet's information that outlined the infiltration path at the edge of the danger zone
." The engineering complexity in the place included options for hunting barchans.
Gantz asked questions about cases and reactions.
It was clear that he knows Nablus very well.
He knew exactly what they were talking about when they say a dense Kasbah.
In the end, he approved the operation imposed on the IDF. He only added, 'I trust you.'"
A week before the election in Israel, Gantz approved a sensitive operation in the heart of one of the densest and most dangerous areas of the Yosh while taking a high risk that something would get complicated at the last minute and play to his detriment.
The critical discussion in which the Shin Bet members revealed sensitive intelligence and all "lion's dens" (Photo: Shin Bet)
The commander of the IMM and the senior officers of the operations division of the Shin Bet chose an infiltration date and conveyed information to the Defense Minister's office that they had moved into "preparatory" mode.
"Two things are special about the IDF," explained a senior security official. "One is the fact that they have all the advanced operational capabilities.
Very experienced and professional fighters, high-quality undercover agents, the use of dogs, the use of advanced technology that cannot be detailed and a common language with the Shin Bet personnel who defined them as the home unit."
Within a few hours it was decided to postpone the operation by a day to October 24 due to what is called "operational maturity".
At this time, a breathing crown was imposed on Nablus to increase the degree of pressure on the "lion's back".
Accordingly, the activists had to return to the hiding apartments and avoid traffic on Samaria roads.
In case of any development, the IDF placed ambushes on prominent axes to prevent a situation where the activists would try to escape to Jenin.
Gantz's red phone rang shortly after midnight, over the line the military secretary Brigadier General Yaki Dolf informed that the first offensive force of the IDF had penetrated the Kasbah of Nablus.
The next update was a "green light" for the IDF fighters to reach the unloading points and advance on foot towards the hiding apartment. A Palestinian hair styling shop owner and one of his employees noticed the incident and reported IDF activity in the Kasbah.
At that minute it was already clear that the hourglass had turned and every second that passes is critical for the security of the forces.
IDF and Shin Bet forces activity in Nablus against the terrorist infrastructure of Gov Aryot, October (Photo: Reuters)
In the first phase, the Navy forces and patrol snipers of the Israeli Defense Forces were positioned at a large number of targets and used the world's most advanced sniper rifle of the Mard type, manufactured by the Barrett company, with a Leopold Mark 8 telescope for night use by the Trijicon company, which allow the sniper to hit human targets from a range of 1,200 meters.
At the same time, calls increased in the mosques to help the commanders of the "Lions Den" in any way possible.
The activity of the IDF and fighting forces in the cover, as well as 140 fighters from additional special units of the IDF in all the circles, was fast.
While the IDF fighters surrounded the building, another force of fighters carried out a hunt for armed men who escaped from the apartment that was the central HML.
The IDF soldiers used missiles and special charges against the militants in the apartment, which finally caught fire, among other things from charges that were supposed to explode in the heart of Israel.
In a short time, El Khokh, the commander of the Lion's Den, who planned to carry out a large bomb attack in the heart of Israel, was eliminated.
"All those Tik Tok stars ran away without fighting and yet the militants who were thrown into the area made use of a lot of ammunition and improvised explosive devices that greatly endangered the forces in the field," said a security official.
"The high professional level of the IDF and Shin Bet fighters, in combination with aircraft, drones, and Shin Bet intelligence, made it possible to hit from a long range the armed men who endangered the force that surrounded the hiding apartment.
Until you see with your own eyes the accuracy of the IMM in short-range shooting and sniping, you don't understand how much it looks like science fiction."
At the end of three hours of complex fighting in the crowded areas, five of the Gov Aryeh commanders were killed, and 21 armed and violent rioters were wounded.
On the way out, the fighters had to deal with roadblocks created by the armed men and helpers in the field using explosives, and burning tires.
The Lions Den terrorist organization (photo: official website, --)
The operation was hailed as a success by senior officials of the Central Command.
A senior officer in the command said this week: "It was a surgical operation with elements of surprise that cannot be revealed. Precise damage to those who wanted without dragging the entire area into escalation and without humiliating the Palestinian Authority. The intention is to continue the security coordination. This is further proof of the terrorist organizations in the Palestinian Authority and the militants , to the headquarters of Hamas and Islamic Jihad that Israel does not hesitate to deploy fighters everywhere.
This is a very important message that sank in very quickly with the Palestinians." In less than a week, sixty armed men and Palestinian Authority officials reached an understanding according to which they would cease terrorist activities, and some of them would go into custody. 20 of them also surrendered their weapons.
Last week, Gantz spoke at a closed security forum on the subject of the IMM and Shin Bet operation in Nablus, and emphasized its impact on the region.
"When they kidnapped the body of the Israeli citizen Tiran Piero, we demanded that the Palestinian Authority return it immediately - but we didn't wait a moment and also prepared an operational plan," he said.
"She was ready for implementation. There were many conversations with the Palestinians. They left. They came back. They also told stories that in a little while the body will be with you. This did not happen. At some point I say to the guys who are talking to them: 'Tell them that I have forbidden to talk to you and there is no more permission They understood that the IDF was preparing for a major operation." The operation, which was also planned by the Shin Bet, was approved by Gantz.
Within three hours the body was in the passage.
The Palestinians realized that after the kasbah in Nablus in Israel they would not hesitate to go in and take the body out of Jenin.
There is no shelter and no city of refuge.
In the video: traveling around the city with weapons drawn: the terrorist squads trying to imitate the "Lions Den".
October 19, 2022 ((Documentation in social networks according to Section 27 A of the Copyright Law))
Apart from the fact that Palestinian Authority Chairman Abu Mazen summoned all the heads of the Palestinian security mechanisms to him and urged them to use more force on the ground and to exercise Palestinian sovereignty in the refugee camp in Jenin and the Kasbah of Nablus - another process that Gantz referred to in the discussions stood out: "The operation in the Kasbah created the atmosphere in the PA The Palestinian that the IDF does not leave issues unaddressed and the PA does not want to be embarrassed that it does nothing. The main lesson from these events? Wherever Israel withdraws from, a problem arises. We unilaterally withdrew from Lebanon. Hezbollah strengthened, did we unilaterally withdraw from Gaza? Hamas took over the Strip. Are we out of northern Samaria? The PA is less present there. You can't argue with reality. We must talk to the Palestinians and continue security coordination."
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