Operation Defensive Shield: Difference between revisions

Operation Defensive Shield (In Hebrew, מבצע חומת מגן) was a large-scale military operation conducted by the Israeli Defence Forces in April 2002. It was the largest military operation in the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War.

Background

In March 2002, more than 135 Israeli civilians were killed in attacks committed by Palestinian groups such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades (the "military branch" of Fatah). These attacks reached their peak on March 27, 2002, with the event known as the "Passover Massacre", in which a Palestinian suicide bomber murdered 31 people at the Park Hotel in Netanya (28 straight off, then three more died from their injuries). Many of the victims were survivors of the Holocaust.

Within twenty-four hours, the Israel Defense Forces had issued emergency call-up notices for 20,000 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 which have become havens for terrorists; 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 terrorist 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 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:

• Bethlehem
• Jenin (see also: Battle of Jenin 2002)
• Nablus
• Ramallah

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 afterward, the city and its refugee camp were under curfew.

The city of Bethlehem and its environs remained under curfew for five weeks, though there were periodic breaks, until an impasse involving Palestinian gunmen [1] who had held hostage the clergy in 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 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.

Notable events were the battle of Jenin and the siege of Yasser Arafat's compound.

The operation officially ended on May 10, 2002, although occupations and curfiews 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.

External links

• "Passover Massacre" - The suicide bombing in Park Hotel, Netanya
• isayeret.com - The Israeli Special Forces Database - Numerous photos from the operation
• TIME Magazine - NPOV on the battle of Jenin
• The Israel News Agency at the scene of the "Passover Massacre"
• Tikkun Magazine analysis of Operation Defensive Shield
• IDF statistical summary of Operation Defensive Shield