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| ==Goals== | ==Goals== | ||
| The stated goals of the operation (as conveyed to the Israeli ] by Prime Minister ] on ], ]) were to "enter cities and villages ; to catch and arrest terrorists and, primarily, their dispatchers and those who finance and support them; to confiscate weapons intended to be used against Israeli citizens; to expose and destroy facilities and explosives, laboratories, weapons production factories and secret installations. The orders are clear: target and paralyze anyone who takes up weapons and tries to oppose our troops, resists them or endanger them - and to avoid harming the civilian population." | The stated goals of the operation (as conveyed to the Israeli ] by Prime Minister ] on ], ]) were to "enter cities and villages ; to catch and arrest terrorists and, primarily, their dispatchers and those who finance and support them; to confiscate weapons intended to be used against Israeli citizens; to expose and destroy facilities and explosives, laboratories, weapons production factories and secret installations. The orders are clear: target and paralyze anyone who takes up weapons and tries to oppose our troops, resists them or endanger them - and to avoid harming the civilian population." | ||
| A month earlier Sharon had told the world's press his general plan for the Occupied Territories: ''"The Palestinians must be hit and it must be very painful. We must cause them losses, victims, so that they feel the heavy price"'' (5th March 2002).<ref>http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1002012,00.html</ref> However, this led to a rebuke by the US's Colin Powell "if you ... think you can solve the problem by seeing how many Palestinians can be killed."''<ref> Colin Powell rebuked Sharon, saying ''"if you declare war against the Palestinians and think you can solve the problem by seeing how many Palestinians can be killed - I don't know if that leads you anywhere." 10th March 2002. Verified 12th Oct 2007.</ref> | |||
| ==The operation== | ==The operation== | ||
Revision as of 18:09, 4 November 2007
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Operation Defensive Shield (Template:Lang-he) was a large-scale military operation conducted by the Israel Defense Forces in 2002, during the course of the Second Intifada. It was the largest military operation in the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War.
Background
March and April of 2002 saw a dramatic increase of suicide bomb attacks against Israelis by Palestinian groups such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, and in March alone approximately 130 Israelis were killed in 13 attacks. Suicide bombings on on 8 and 9 March, followed by a larger attack on 27 March, an event known as the Passover massacre where 30 Israeli civilians including many holocaust survivors were killed, prompted the Israeli government to deploy the IDF on a wave of incursions into Palestinian towns and villages in the West Bank, what it considered a large-scale counter-terrorist offensive beginning on 29 March. The Israel Defense Forces had issued emergency call-up notices for 30,000 reserve soldiers, the largest such call-up since the 1982 Lebanon War.
Goals
The stated goals of the operation (as conveyed to the Israeli Knesset by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on April 8, 2002) were to "enter cities and villages ; to catch and arrest terrorists and, primarily, their dispatchers and those who finance and support them; to confiscate weapons intended to be used against Israeli citizens; to expose and destroy facilities and explosives, laboratories, weapons production factories and secret installations. The orders are clear: target and paralyze anyone who takes up weapons and tries to oppose our troops, resists them or endanger them - and to avoid harming the civilian population."
A month earlier Sharon had told the world's press his general plan for the Occupied Territories: "The Palestinians must be hit and it must be very painful. We must cause them losses, victims, so that they feel the heavy price" (5th March 2002). However, this led to a rebuke by the US's Colin Powell "if you ... think you can solve the problem by seeing how many Palestinians can be killed."
The operation
By April 3, the IDF was conducting major military operations in all Palestinian cities with the exception of Hebron and Jericho. The major points of conflict were:
During the operation, strict curfews were placed on at least six major Palestinian cities, resulting in complaints by human rights groups that essential medical attention was being denied to sick and elderly Palestinians, as well as complaints that Israel was practicing collective punishment, which is prohibited under the Fourth Geneva Convention. In some cities, there were scheduled breaks in the curfews. In others, curfews continued uninterrupted for a week or more.
Throughout the two weeks of fighting in Jenin and for a few days afterwards, the city and its refugee camp were under curfew. The April battle saw heavy losses among the Israeli infantry and there was much concern at the time about possible human rights violations occurring in the camp. However, reports of a large-scale massacre there were unable to be verified.
The city of Bethlehem and its environs remained under curfew for five weeks, though there were periodic breaks, until an impasse involving Palestinian gunmen who had seized the Church of the Nativity was resolved. Most of the armed Palestinians in the Church of the Nativity agreed to go to the Gaza Strip. The rest were exiled to Cyprus.
In Ramallah, the Israelis besieged Yasser Arafat's compound and attempted to isolate him physically and diplomatically.
In reply to these complaints, the Israeli army stated that the curfew was placed in order to prevent civilians from being caught in gunfights and getting hurt. Palestinian ambulances were stopped for checks following the discovery of an explosive belt in a Red Crescent ambulance.
Aftermath
The operation officially ended on May 10, 2002, although occupations and curfews continued after that time, gradually tapering off. Shortly afterwards, Operation Determined Path was launched.
A poll conducted after the end of the operation indicated that 86 percent of Israeli Jews thought that the operation contributed to Israel's security, but 54 percent thought the Operation has damaged Israel politically. However, in the final analysis, fully 90 percent of those surveyed asserted that the decision to launch Operation Defensive Shield was the correct decision. Views among Israeli Arabs were the opposite, with equally high numbers against the Operation.
According to the Guardian, at least 500 Palestinians were killed and 1500 were wounded. According to the Palestinian Red Crecent over 4,258 detained by the Israeli military. The Israeli offensive also left 29 Israeli soldiers dead, and 127 wounded. The World Bank estimated that over $360 million worth of damage was caused to Palestinian infrastructure and institutions. $158 million of which came from the massive aerial bombardment and destruction of houses in Nablus and Jenin. Large sectors of the Palestinian population were left homeless by the Operation. ()
Human Rights Watch determined that "Israeli forces committed serious violations of international humanitarian law, some amounting prima facie to war crimes." ()
Amnesty International reported that war crimes occurred in the Jenin refugee camp and in Nablus. Amnesty International's report did not contain accusations that a massacre had occurred. However, the Amnesty report asserts that war crimes were committed by Israel, including unlawful killings; a failure to ensure medical or humanitarian relief; demolition of houses and property occurred (sometime with civilians still inside); water and electricity supplies to civilians were cut; torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment in arbitrary detention occurred; and Palestinians civilians were used for military operations or as "human shields."
A UN fact-finding mission was to be established under UN Security Council Resolution 1405 (April 19, 2002) to investigate the operations in Jenin. Initially Israel seemed to welcome an investigation but later refused to cooperate. They cited 'media distortions' as to what actually occurred in the camp as the reason.() However, it was Israel that denied journalists access to the camp which in turn resulted in flawed second hand reporting. Palestinian cabinet minister Saeb Erekat was widely misquoted by the press as saying there were 500 deaths in the assault on Jenin, when in fact he had been referring to the entire scope of Operation Defensive Shield.() Israeli foreign minister Shimon Peres is quoted (in Haaretz) as saying "When the world sees the pictures of what we have done there, it will do us immense damage."
References
- Israeli Government Communique April 21, 2002.
- ^ Report of Secretary-General on recent events in Jenin, other Palestinian cities August 1, 2002.
- ^ 'Major Ziv: A new wave of attacks is coming' (YNET)
- Statements by Israeli PM Sharon and DM Ben-Eliezer 29 Mar 2002
- 'The Battle of Jenin' by By Matt Rees, May 13, 2002 (TIME), Also 'Untangling Jenin's Tale'
- http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1002012,00.html
- as Do it the American way Colin Powell rebuked Sharon, saying "if you declare war against the Palestinians and think you can solve the problem by seeing how many Palestinians can be killed - I don't know if that leads you anywhere." 10th March 2002. Verified 12th Oct 2007.
- (Higgins, Alexander G., "International Red Cross says 'unacceptable' Israeli actions curbed its West Bank operations," Associated Press Newswires, 6 April 2002.)
- "Israel and the Occupied Territories Shielded from scrutiny: IDF violations in Jenin and Nablus". Amnesty International. 2002-11-04. Retrieved 2007-09-21.
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See also
- Passover suicide bombing at Park Hotel in Netanya
- The Battle of Jenin, Time Magazine
- Israelbooks.com Goldenberg, Doron (2003). State of Siege. Gefen Publishing House.