Eretz Israel is our unforgettable historic homeland...The Jews who will it shall achieve their State...And whatever we attempt there for our own benefit will redound mightily and beneficially to the good of all mankind. (Theodor Herzl, DerJudenstaat, 1896)

We offer peace and amity to all the neighbouring states and their peoples, and invite them to cooperate with the independent Jewish nation for the common good of all. The State of Israel is ready to contribute its full share to the peaceful progress and development of the Middle East.
(From Proclamation of the State of Israel, 5 Iyar 5708; 14 May 1948)

With a liberal democratic political system operating under the rule of law, a flourishing market economy producing technological innovation to the benefit of the wider world, and a population as educated and cultured as anywhere in Europe or North America, Israel is a normal Western country with a right to be treated as such in the community of nations.... For the global jihad, Israel may be the first objective. But it will not be the last. (Friends of Israel Initiative)

Monday 10 December 2012

"All That Intensive Training And They Run Like Little Girls" (video)

Here's how members of the IDF responded last week to provocation by Arab youths in the disputed territories throwing bricks and stones and yelling "Allahu Akbar".  They raised their shields to protect themselves from the relentless barrage of missiles and then fled for cover.

Although the missiles hurled at them had the potential to kill, they did not raise, let alone fire, their weapons.


"All that intensive training and they run like little girls; I'd be ashamed to be in the IDF after that," grumbles a commenter called Pesach on YouTube after watching the clip.

But it's that reaction on the part of the soldiers that bears out Colonel Richard Kemp's assertion that the IDF is an exemplary force: it's that army which, he testified following Operation Cast Lead, "did more to safeguard the rights of civilians in a combat zone than any other army in the history of warfare".

"Do these Islamist fighting groups ignore the international laws of armed conflict?" he has written.
"They do not.  It would be a grave mistake to conclude that they do.  Instead, they study it carefully and they understand it well.
They know that a British or Israeli commander and his men are bound by international law and the rules of engagement that flow from it.  They then do their utmost to exploit what they view as one of their enemy’s main weaknesses."
Not that the soldiers' forbearance in the above video is appreciated by Israel's enemies: "Hitler 4 ever" is a recent comment beneath it on YouTube, for example.

Reports the Arutz Sheva news outlet:
'The incident in the video took place in recent days in Shechem. Three IDF soldiers were injured in the incident, with one sustaining an injury to his hand, and another a wound to his head. A third soldier was injured when a smoke grenade he was about to throw blew up in his hand. The three were being treated at a hospital in Petach Tikvah.
The incident was similar to another one that took place in Hevron last week, when IDF soldiers battled Palestinian Authority police and rioting Arabs. IDF officials said they considered the incident “serious,” and that an investigation had been opened.
Officials said that the level of Arab rioting in Judea and Samaria has climbed significantly since Operation Pillar of Defense ended, and that there were more reports of rock throwing and other terror incidents. Officials said that they had also been prepared for an increase in violence after last week's UN General Assembly vote raising the status of the PA in the world body. Many of the rioters are new Hamas sympathizers, the officials said, who have become supporters of the terror group in the wake of Operation Pillar of Defense.
Commenting on the Shechem video, the IDF said that the incident was being investigated. “This riot occurred during an illegal gathering last Friday in Kaddum, one of the most violent towns in Judea and Samaria. In the wake of the riot the IDF has updated its instructions for riot control by soldiers, using select, but moral, means to dispel riots but without using excessive force."
Viewers of the video expressed shock at the images, and many demanded that the IDF adjust its policies to enable soldiers to respond more effectively to situations like the one portrayed.... Commenting on the video, one viewer said that "the government is playing with fire. There is only so much patience that these soldiers can have in the fact of provocations like this. When a soldier picks up his weapon to defend himself and the hand-wringers all of the sudden ask why, they can watch this video to get their answer."'
Read more here

4 comments:

  1. Michael Oren on Hamas media manipulation
    http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/falling-for-hamass-media-manipulation/2012/11/28/4d7b9498-39a1-11e2-8a97-363b0f9a0ab3_story.html

    ReplyDelete
  2. The IDFs ROE are BS
    Soldiers filmed in rout say commanders tied hands because of press presence
    http://www.timesofisrael.com/soldiers-filmed-in-rout-say-commanders-tied-hands-because-of-press-presence/

    Sad but true
    Isi Leiber: Bob Carr and Australia’s “Pathetic” Turn Against Israel
    http://www.algemeiner.com/2012/12/09/bob-carr-and-australias-pathetic-turn-against-israel/

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks,Ian. An excellent article by Leibler. This attack on him is very regrettable, quite silly:
    http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/12/07/thorwing-netanyahu-under-abbas.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There's a shock Peter Beinart's site Open Zion aka "Death to Israel" prints an anti-Israel article full of lies. Bah E1 and taxes (used to pay PA power bills) so what.

      "They are not supposed to listen to progressive voices in Israel that line up to condemn Netanyahu’s settlement projects."
      Only Zoabi and Meretz oppose E1.

      In those last few para's he essentially accuses Israel of being Nazi's, Classy stuff from the Assoc Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Monash University. Sir John must turning in his grave at how far Monash Uni has fallen.

      Delete

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