In the past week and a half, we can see a leap in the quality of the IDF's operation. You see fraud, you see a ruse, you see surprise. The IDF appears lethal, precise and uninhibited – but to an extent. The triple elimination of Islamic Jihad leaders, in the manner and coordination in which it was carried out, sent the terrorist organizations into confusion and shock.
There were voices wondering why Israel was going on the passive defensive, sitting in suspense to see when and how the terrorist organizations' response would come. Since the level of sophistication of the IDF, led by IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy and Defense Minister Yoav Galant, is high in this round, it is too early to summarize and judge the conduct of the operation. According to the principles of war, after a particularly successful opening blow, the IDF had to move on to exploit success. Take advantage of the confusion and shock in Islamic Jihad and Hamas to continue confusing them with shooting and operations.
Rocket hits in Sderot during Operation Shield and Arrow // Yaniv Zohar
That didn't seem to be happening, and commentators clung to microphones for more than 12 hours, swanning a tense passive wait for the jihadist response to come.
In the meantime, the Air Force is showing impressive capabilities: several anti-tank squads or mortar squads or rocket fire were eliminated and thwarted before they could fire. In recent rounds, the Air Force's inefficiency in intercepting launch squads has been conspicuous. Ultimately, the best deterrent is the elimination of rocket launchers.
The calm following yesterday's storm of assassinations gave way to two aspects of the continuation of Operation Shield and Arrow: one is recharging the battery of legitimacy: if they resume firing missiles at civilians, the IDF will resume operations and exact a high price from the terrorist organizations and the Gaza home front; The second aspect is the common debate on the moral level: How many non-involved people is allowed to endanger a moral army like the IDF in a vital counterterrorism operation?
Rockets launched from Gaza towards Israel, Photo: Reuters
It was notable that the legal advisor was in the loop of decision makers (she was the one who decided that the security cabinet should not be convened). On the other hand, Asa Kasher was probably not in the loop. This time, "knock on the roof" procedures were not used.
The people send the army
Radical left-wing organizations, including Knesset members and several media headlines, chose to delegitimize Shield and Arrow, assassinations that were accompanied by the killing of about nine civilians. In any case, attacking Channel 13 employees is reprehensible, and if it is possible to locate the attackers, the police should step in. The debate is a form of masochistic Israeli therapy. Israel fights against organizations operated like crocodile teeth by Iran against the State of Israel and its citizens, and the goal is the indiscriminate murder of civilians and the destruction of Israel. This is a genocidal ideology, and Israel is obligated to neutralize such an enemy that emerged from a population seeking revenge and full of hatred, with the murder of civilians being the focus of the method and strategy.
Another aspect that gives Israel moral superiority vis-à-vis the United States and other Western countries, including American Jews, involves the direct connection between Israeli society, the citizens of the state, and the military force used against the enemy. The company that sends the army to such operations, through the elected government, also knows that it will directly pay the price. These are not the citizens of Washington and New York, who are thousands of miles away from the forces and aircraft that shoot and kill in Iraq, Afghanistan or Syria. With us, it is the people themselves who have been harmed, and they are also sending the army into action. Direct contact gives the moral backbone, even if there is environmental damage.
Wrong? We'll fix it! If you find a mistake in the article, please share with us