Operation Shield & Arrow

Jerusalem Magazine Operation Shield & Arrow Here We Go Again LARRY PRICE MAY 12, 2023 When did it all start? Some say when Adam, the first man, was born and saw his son Cain kill Abel. Some say when the Prophet Abraham’s wife cast out her handmaiden Hagar and Ishmail, her son by Abraham, into the wilderness. Some say when Islam took root in the Middle East in the 8th century AD. Some say when the first pioneers arrived in Israel at the end of the 19th century. Some say when the State of Israel was established. When ever the conflict began the latest conflagration started a week ago when Israel simultaneously assassinated three Islamic Jihad leaders in a lightening strike against three separate locations in the Gaza strip. Operation Shield and Arrow Israel launched what the IDF called “Operation Shield and Arrow.” The first salvo was the attack was in reprisal for 106 rockets fired by Islamic Jihad, a terror group financed by Iran, a week earlier ostensibly as payback for the death of, and Islamic Jihad leader Khadar Adnan, 45, a baker and the father of nine, who died in an Israeli prison after a nearly three-month hunger strike. This was the third time sine 2011 that Adnan had been arrested and held without charges and the third time he’d gone on a hunger strike. According to the Prison Services Adnan was indicted by a military court on charges of involvement in an outlawed group and inciting violence. Reuters reported that Israel employs this type of detention when evidence cannot be revealed in court due to security needs. “Palestinians and rights groups say Israel routinely uses such detentions, which deny due process, to hold hundreds of Palestinians for prolonged periods of time.” Adnan, from the West Bank town of Arraba near Jenin, represented Islamic Jihad, a group based in Gaza, in the West Bank. His family and attorney say he was denied medical attention but Israeli prison services said he’d denied any medical care. Reuters also reported that, “Hundreds of people took to the streets in the occupied Palestinian territories to rally and mourn Adnan's death, which Palestinian leaders described as an assassination. In Gaza, Islamic Jihad began began firing rockets into Israel as a response to Adnan’s death. Hamas, the terror group that rules Gaza did not join in the firing but did nothing to stop it. Two people were injured when Islamic Jihad fired a hail of 106 rockets that fell in Sderot, a southern Israel town near the Gaza border. In an unusual turn of events Israel did not immediately respond strongly to the rocket attack but did strike a few Islamic Jihad weapons manufacturing plants and training bases. Gaza waited for the stronger Israeli response which, after a week, had not come. Thinking this round of fighting was over Islamic Jihad leaders came out from their underground bunkers. Three Islamic Jihad leaders, Kahil Bahitini, a veteran terrorist responsible for attacks in Israel going back decades, now a conduit for Iranian funds to Islamic Jihad Tarek Azaldin who reportedly directed Islamic Jihad activities in the West Bank from his command center in Gaza.and Jahid Ahnan, another veteran terrorist who handled money for Islamic Jihad. All three were killed in their upper floor apartments in high-rise buildings. Israel immediately went on high alert preparing for the inevitable response by Islamic Jihad. The big question was, would Hamas join in the fighting if and when Israel counter-attacked. Islamic Jihad, that has been described as a small group of criminals with a limited supply of missiles was not expected to be able to fight for long without Hamas. Experts said that Hamas had a lot more to lose than Islamic Jihad since Hamas controlled Gaza and was responsible for the citizens there, their well-being and their ability to earn a living in Israel. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from Gaza go to work in Israel every day. Hamas realized that should they enter the fray Israel would close off the borders and not allow workers to their jobs. Iran Reportedly had been putting a lot of pressure on Islamic Jihad to respond to the assassinations .Islamic Jihad was taking its time to respond, ostensibly because they were trying to get Hamas to join in the fighting and get backing from other Arab countries. In Israel, Itamar Ben Gvir, Minister of National Security, was pressuring the Netanyahu government to strike hard at Gaza in response to the missile attacks. And to mount a military operation in the West Bank. Ben-Gvir had been refusing to attend Knesset sessions and even speak to Netanyahu. The media speculated that Netanyahu’s government might fall. Other pressures, prior to the rocket attacks, came from Netanyahu’s coalition partners United Torah Judaism (UTJ) who threatened if a law guaranteeing draft deferral for yeshiva students wasn’t passed they would quit the government, and Shaas, the Sephardi ultra-orthodox party run by Aryeh Deri, who wanted a Deri 2 law passed that would allow Deri to come back into the government as a minister. He’d been banned by the Attorney General since he was a convicted felon. Still other threats came from those behind the push for Judicial Reforms. Justice Minister Yariv Levine threatened to quit if the Judicial Reforms were not passed. His co-architect of the reforms, Simcha Rotman, said the survival of Netanyahu’s coalition government was contingent on passing the reforms. Finance Minister Smotritch said the reforms would be passed. All of this as Netanyahu was struggling to get a budget passed before May 29th, when the law stated if no budget was passed then the government automatically fell and new elections had to be called. According to experts, the law passed in 2014 stated that should a vote of no confidence in the government be passed the government didn’t automatically fall. Rather, others in the Knesset were called upon to form a new government. If that didn’t happen, the present government continued to rule. These experts say that no other group in the Knesset could replace Netanyahu and that he would survive a vote of no confidence. Dissenters, perhaps like Ben Gvir perhaps wouldn’t vote for bills Netanyahu wanted passed but that wouldn’t effect his staying in power. This, even as pundits cited the recent polls to show how the last thing Netanyahu needed now was new elections. His popularity had plummeted. Polls by all three TV stations showed that his rival, Benny Gantz’ National Unity party would garner 29 votes and the Likud only 24. Polls also showed that Netanyahu’s present coalition would only get 52 seats in a new election when 61 were needed for a majority to form a government. Worse still, Netanyahu’s rating as a good or bad prime minister had fallen drastically. 75% of those polled thought the government was not going a good job, 73% thought Netanyahu was doing a poor job. A Maariv newspaper poll showed that about 20% of the sample thought the Judicial Reforms were important. Most, 48% thought the high cost of living was the most important issue. One source pointed out that only Norway and Sweden have a higher cost of living index than Israel, which is 39% above the OECD average. The only way Netanyahu’s government could fall would be if the budget is not passed; or if he were to be convicted of one of the three felony indictments hanging over his head. So, Netanyahu is doing his best to appease his coalition partners by agreeing to outrageous demands. Once the budget is passed, say observers, it is uncertain how Netanyahu would behave towards his coalition partners. One thing left unsaid, however, is if Netanyahu would keep on pushing for Judicial Reforms since he needs to neuter to court and appoint a new Attorney General who would dismiss the three felony indictments he now faces. Meanwhile, Israel’s crime families were in their own war, mostly among the Arab Israeli community. News reported daily murders usually one crime family seeking retribution against another. So far nearly 90 Arab Israelis have been killed this year, twice the number for last year at this time. Many of the murders took place in broad daylight in Israeli Arab towns in the north and even in Haifa, where a 24-year old mother was gunned down in front of her home. Bombs exploded under cars and motorcycles. The tension was palpable and much blame was aimed at National Security Minister Ben Gvir, whose evaluation of performance was only 19%, for not stopping the violence. Some cynics speculated that he was happy to see Arabs killing each other. As a Kahanist, whose mentor Meir Kahane pressed for a ‘transfer’ of Israeli Arabs out of the country, this killing spree was just another way to rid israel of the Arab population. At this juncture, some analysts speculated that Netanyahu might engage in a military adventure to increase his standing with the public. Protesters were still turning out in the streets every Saturday night, as they had for 18 weeks straight. Negotiations over judicial reforms were still on-going at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem but little or no headway had been made. During the previous lull Israel had mounted a raid on targets in the West Bank. 200 special forces operatives, some dressed as women, went into Nablus and arrested two wanted terrorists and their associates. Some analysts wondered if this was the final response Israel was going to make to the rocket attack? The protests continued. The threats by coalition partners continued. Netanyahu’s popularity continued to drop. Until Israel answered the Islamic Jihad rocket attacks by killing the three Islamic Jihad leaders., Knowing that Islamic Jihad would retaliate, as that was the usual methodology in these situations, strike, response, quiet, until the next blow-up. A scenario that has been going on for nearly two decades. Expecting a retaliation Israel went on high alert. Roads near Gaza were closed. Settlements along the Gaza border were told to open up their bomb shelters. Schools were closed. Many residents of towns and villages along the Gaza border left for the center of the country. The country hunkered down awaiting the attack. Islamic jihad spokesmen in Gaza said gleefully that israel was in a panic. Even if they didn’t attack they’d managed to freeze the country like a block of ice. Veteran military correspondent Ron Ben-Ishai of Yideot Achronot called this the “Silent Attrition,” saying a long silence may be a new tactic, a change in the pattern. That instead of immediate rocket barrages, with Islamic Jihad and Hamas relishing the paralysis of life in the Israeli towns along the Gaza border, a psychological warfare that teased a response. Ben Ishai also speculated, as did others, about Hamas joining the fighting. Islamic Jihad reportedly didn’t have a large supply of rockets and the expectation was that the fighting wouldn’t last long. Hamas reportedly has three times the number of rockets. And then there was the danger that Hezbollah, the terror organization in Lebanon, would also join in the fight. Hezbollah reportedly has over a hundred-thousand rockets ready to fire at Israel. Still, Islamic Jihad did have a number of long range Grad rockets, and some improved long-range missiles. During the night, Israel struck again, this time at an Islamic Jihad cells Khan Yunis that was reportedly preparing to fire missiles at Israel. At 13:41 on May 10th sirens sounded Israeli areas along the Gaza border. The rockets began to fall. And fall. The firing went on for three days. By the time over 500 missiles had fallen, luckily with no loss of life in Israel, Egypt and Qatar had stepped in to mediate a ceasefire. Of the over 500 missiles that fell, a reported 96% were destroyed by the Iron Dome anti-missile system. As one commentator pointed out, each Iron Dome missile cost about $60,000, and each missile fired from Gaza costs a few thousand at most. Speaking on Israel TV’s Kan 11, Gen.(retired)Gal Hirsch said that Islamic Jihad was part of the Iranian Army as was Hezbollah (a terror group based in Lebanon). They saw that Israel could take out three Islamic Jihad leaders simultaneously and knew that Israel could do much more than that. “They got the message,” said Hirsch. He pointed out that the group knew the world’s media was in Israel with cameras running. He said that the Islamic Jihad rocket fire was aimed at the residents of Gaza who would watch on TV that Islamic Jihad was causing Israel to scurry around running from the rockets. Kan Channel 11 military correspondent Uri Sharon said that the real leaders of Islamic Jihad sit in Syria. He said he didn’t expect any response by Israel to cause the Islamic Jihad to surrender and close up shop. Sharon pointed out that it had been 9-months since the last rocket attacks from Gaza. And that there had been quiet. He thought that the best Israel could hope for was just that, quiet, for as long as possible. According to Ynetnews, “Iran pours millions of dollars a year into jihad, and fears that the investment will go down the drain. In Israel it is estimated that she is putting pressure on those senior officials of the organization who are in Lebanon to oppose the ceasefire in any way. And Hamas? He sits on the fence and wants the round to end because of the possible financial damage to Gaza.”Arab Affairs expert Lior Levi told the Kan 11 TV audience that Islamic Jihad was a gang of thugs, not terribly organized, not like Hamas. By Wednesday night, May 10, after a storm of missiles fell on Israel, quiet took over. Reports that talks of a ceasefire were taking place. The rocket fire stopped at midnight. Commentators said this was the expected behavior. A flurry of attacks by the Gaza terrorists to show that they hadn’t surrendered out of fear, and then a negotiated ceasefire. But Israel apparently had other plans. at 04:10 Israel struck again, this time taking out Ali Hasan Rali, the commander of the Islamic Jihad rocket forces. As expected, Islamic Jihad began firing again, but this time only a dozen or so rockets fell during most of the day as negotiations continued. Islamic Jihad was demanding the return of the body of the hunger-striker Adnan, and a cessation of assassinations of Islamic Jihad leaders. Israel rejected both demands. Pundits said this was only the opening bids in the negotiations. Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Galant informed the public that the hostilities could go on for an extended period and that he’d informed the army to be prepared for an extended conflict. He also warned that the current 40 kilometer area from the Gaza border could be extended as the fighting continues. Earlier, Galant had been informed that his Holocaust survivor mother, who had been on the famous Exodus ship carrying refugees to Israel, had passed away at the age of 88. Islamic Jihad then fired missiles at the center of the country, towards Tel Aviv. These were taken down by the David’s Sling missile system that was geared for long range work, 40-300 kilometers. The short range rockets were dealt with by the Iron Dome and long range rockets, those fired from other countries, by the Arrow 2 and Arrow 3 anti-missile system. On Thursday afternoon May 11, The Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet security agency confirmed that the Air Force had carried out a strike in the southern Gaza Strip killing Ahmad Abu Daqqa, the Islamic Jihad’s deputy head of the terror group’s rocket array. The IDF says Abu Daqqa was the deputy of Ali Ghali, who was killed in an Israeli strike early this morning. Meanwhile, National Security Minister Ben Gvir had come back into the fold after his demand for retaliation was seemingly met. Ben Gvir was no longer looked upon as a threat to bring down the government. Other thorns in Netanyahu’s side were also removed. Finance Minister Smotritch agreed to double the salary of married yeshiva students, mollifying United Torah Judaism, who apparently were not going to quit the government should the draft law not be passed before the upcoming budget vote. Talk onIsrael radio again turned to the Judicial Reforms, with Levine and Rothman still pushing hard to get the laws back on the agenda. Netanyahu has said he has put these reforms on the back burner until after the budget has passed. On Wednesday May 10th Islamic Jihad let loose hundreds of missiles aimed at Israel. Most were taken down by the Iron Dome or fell in open areas. One hit a building in Rehovot, near the center of the country, apparently due to a fault in the Iron Dome. Igna Avramyan, an elderly residents of a four-story building was killed trying to help her invalid husband to the bomb shelter. A dozen others were injured. Then there was quiet. From midnight on Wednesday until Thursday morning. Overnight Israel had struck once again at Islamic Jihad bases. The rockets began again and continued. Negotiations for a ceasefire mediated by Egypt were suspended. Rocket fire continued through Friday. By the approach of Shabbat nearly 900 rockets had fallen in Israel with no let up in site. What will be the outcome? When will the ceasefire negotiations bear fruit? Eventually there will be some sort of agreement. And as Uri Sharon said, and then we’ll have quiet again. But for how long? Ultra-nationalist MK Struck, of Ben Gvir’s Otzmah Yehudit party told Israel Radio Reshet Bet that Israel should do something about this situation, like going back into Gaza and cleaning out the terrorists. More reasonable people think this is a recipe for disaster. Time will tell how this all plays out. And until the next time someone says, “Here We Go Again.” Update, AS OF 22:00 on May 13th, A CEASEFIRE WAS AGREED UPON BY BOTH SIDES. WE’LL SEE HOW LONG IT LASTS. CEASEFIRE WENT INTO EFFECT AT 22:00 BUT ROCKET FIRE CONTINUED UNTIL MIDNIGHT. IN TOTAL OVER 1,300 ROCKETS FELL IN FIVE DAYS. World A gunman killed two worshipers at the 2,500 year old synagogue on the Tunisian Island of Djerba. The gunman, a Tunisian naval officer, opened fire on those gathered for the annual pilgrimage. He was shot and killed by security guards. The motive was unclear. Health The WHO has said that the Covid pandemic is over. Israel has cancelled the 5-day quarantine policy. So far, there are 687,842,087 cases around the world with 6,871,241 deaths and 63.017,405 active cases. In the USA there are 106,768,296 cases with 1,162,431 deaths and 883,374 active cases. Israel is #28 in cases with 4,823,329 and 12,500 deaths and 12,356 active cases. The Hebrew University has announced a possible breakthrough in female Alzheimer’s patients that could lead to better understanding of genetic origins of the disease, as well as treatments to prevent or slow cognitive deterioration. Also, according to the Times of Israel, researchers at Tel Aviv University have successfully used RNA nanodrugs to target and silence a gene that encodes for a protein that causes ovarian cancer to metastasize. said Dr. Rachel Michaelson-Cohen, an obstetrician-gynecologist and the director of the prenatal genetics unit at Shaare Zedek Medical Center, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Michaelson-Cohen, said she would like to see this approach tested on late-stage ovarian cancer metastasis, and also other cancers that metastasize similarly to the intraperitoneal cavity, such as pancreatic, colorectal and liver cancer. Finance According to Ynetnetnews, the ratings agency S&P is expected to affirm Israel's credit rating of AA- and credit outlook of stable when it releases its latest report on Friday after assurances by PM Netanyahu not to go ahead with the Judicial Reforms. Entertainment Noa Kirel, whose grandparents escaped Austria and survived the Holocaust, made the finals of the Eurovision song contest to be held on Saturday night May 13th in Liverpool, England. Israel won the contest in 1978, 1979, 1998 and 2018. Kirel said she’d dedicated her semi-final performance to the Israelis in the south of Israel suffering rocket fire from Gaza. KIREL FINISHED THIRD IN THE CONTEST. SHE SAID SHE WAS PLEASED. SOURCES SAID SHE WAS EXPECTED TO GO NO HIGHER THAN SEVENTH PLACE. Thanks for reading Jerusalem Magazine! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.