Patience paid off, those who remained among the top jihadists in Gaza went down to the bunkers, apparently in preparation for a response. The security establishment is preparing for several days of battle – and the continuation depends mainly on Hamas. National Security Minister Ben Gabir is excluded for fear of leaking information that would endanger the operation
Ron Ben YishaiYesterday 11:36 p.m
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The Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza is indeed the second largest organization in the Gaza Strip, but it is a small and isolated organization, and represents a difficult intelligence challenge for the Shin Bet and the IDF. This is why the comprehensive operation against the leaders of the organization and some of its military assets took place only tonight, even though its preparation lasted more than a month, since the organization launched rockets at Israel after the clashes on the Temple Mount.
Another characteristic of the organization is the centralized leadership, which deals exclusively with military matters, in contrast to Hamas, which has various branches that facilitate the gathering of intelligence and the attack on it – the jihadists constantly operate under close Iranian direction and with funding from Tehran, as an underground organization for everything. That is why it was difficult to reach a situation where it is possible to create a “capture” for the three senior officials who were eliminated tonight, including the chief commander responsible for all the activities from the Gaza Strip, Khalil Bahitini, and the person responsible on his behalf for the activities in Judea and Samaria, and especially in the north of Samaria (in Jenin and Nablus), Tarek Ez a -law. The latter even worked to smuggle rockets into Samaria, so that they could launch from there for the first time.
Similar to the “Black Belt” operations – in which the commander of the Jihad in the north of the Gaza Strip, Bahaa Abu al-Ata, was eliminated, and the “Dawn” operation, which was also aimed at the leaders of the organization, “Protection and Arrow” was also aimed at the senior leaders of the Jihad, who control its activities, And by doing so, it is possible to harm all of the organization’s activities that come out of Gaza.
The operation that the IDF and Shin Bet embarked on tonight has three goals. One – deterrence. The second – prevention of another planned terrorist activity, mainly in Judea and Samaria. The third goal – take revenge and pay, which is an emotional and not an operational goal. Such operations cannot be carried out from moment to moment, and in order for them to achieve their goals and not just give momentary satisfaction to angry and ranting politicians, we have to wait, because the Jihad in Gaza, like Hamas, sends its senior officials to protected underground bunkers before firing rockets or carrying out attacks.
The equation and the price
Now it is completely clear why the security establishment and Netanyahu did not rush to respond to the loud calls of the Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gabir. The Minister of Defense and the Prime Minister proved that patience and restraint pay off, and that the time of the murderers’ leaders will not come when it suits the leaders of Otzma Yehudit. From the point of view of the international arena, no problem is expected, and it is likely that the administration in Washington will also understand that Israel has the right to strike the heads of the jihad in Gaza just as the United States has the right and duty to eliminate bin Laden and ISIS leaders in Syria.
There are those who might argue, especially in the international arena, that the operation was intended first and foremost to protect the integrity of Netanyahu’s coalition; that the elimination of the senior officials and the comprehensive damage to the terrorist infrastructure were carried out as a result of the political pressure that Ben Gabir and his party members exerted on the Prime Minister and through him on the heads of the security establishment and the IDF. But the facts indicate otherwise. The decision to hit the heads of the Jihad was made already the day after the confrontation at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Ramadan. Jihad then fired rockets from Gaza in coordination with Hamas in accordance with the policy of the two terrorist organizations which states that they are responsible for the protection of the holy places for Muslims in Jerusalem, and that for them Gaza and the West Bank are one national Palestinian front – therefore deaths in northern Samaria require a response from Gaza.
Israel embarked on Operation Shield and Arrow, among other things, to make it clear to the Gazans that they will pay a heavy price if they continue to try to gain prestige in the Muslim world and on the Palestinian street through this “equation”, from which the residents of southern Israel suffer. Therefore, it is entirely reasonable to claim that the operation was carried out for practical considerations of national security and not to politically please the Minister of National Security and his followers.
In fact, the Minister of Internal Security who demanded to be called the Minister of National Security is considered by the security establishment and by the Prime Minister to be a factor that may endanger national security: he is excluded from discussions and decisions for fear that he will imply or leak information about the operation that is taking shape and thus thwart its execution.
Hamas does not completely control jihad
Regarding the continuation, the IDF estimates that the jihad, as in previous operations directed against it, will try to respond mainly with rocket barrages from the Gaza Strip, mainly towards the south, including Ashdod and Beer Sheva. Therefore, the Home Front Command ordered, among other things, the blocking of roads and the halting of some trains, and the Minister of Defense instructed to allow The residents of the Otaf can leave for accommodation in other places, but every settlement has a safe exit and entrance, and those who stay must be close to the protected places.
According to the estimates of the security establishment, several days of battle are expected. The big question is whether Hamas will join the exchange of fire or if it will refrain as it did in the previous operations that were targeted against the Jihad. Hamas encouraged the Jihad to launch rockets after the confrontation on the Temple Mount, and especially after the death on hunger strike in prison of the jihadist Khader Adnan last week. The two organizations even issued a joint statement, although Hamas contented itself with the symbolic firing of rockets into the air intended to trigger warnings. Hamas acts as an organization that has a responsibility to the residents of the Gaza Strip, since it is the governor and sovereign in the area, and this was the justification for avoiding joining in the previous times.
Hamas is also ideologically opposed to the militant line of jihad, which is directed by Iran and its leader Ziad Nachala, who lives in Lebanon and Syria. However, Hamas cannot completely control Jihad, which in terms of equipment, organization and number of fighters does not fall far behind it. Jihad has thousands of rockets of various ranges and it is likely that today there will be a response to the killing of the three seniors as well as those who were near them, including children.
It is important to note the extraordinary intelligence, especially of the Shin Bet, whose operational unit made it possible to locate and attack with great precision the three senior jihadists and the organization’s assets. The IDF Intelligence Division was responsible for the infrastructural collection and processing of the information, and the Shin Bet’s About the “catcher” who made this possible. The Air Force, which operated 40 aircraft in coordination and with a precision of seconds, demonstrated excellent ability, including reserve pilots.
It seems that the IDF is preparing for an ongoing conflict, which will last at least a few days, and therefore a limited recruitment of reserve personnel has also been approved, mainly for the air defense systems and the command and control systems of the Air Force and the Intelligence Division. In the last operation against the jihad, “Dawn”, a lull was achieved which lasted about six months. We’ll see what happens this time – and it largely depends on the policy chosen by Hamas.
Content retrieved from: https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/bkmxp4wnn.