[News] Israel had numerous military failures in Jenin

[Anti-Imperialist News]

middleeastmonitor.com
<https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230711-israel-had-numerous-military-failures-in-jenin/>
Israel had numerous military failures in Jenin
Dr Adnan Abu Amer - July 11, 2023
------------------------------
[image: image.png]

Apart from the reasons that prompted the Israeli army to carry out its
military operation in Jenin, dubbed 'Operation Home and Garden', the fact
that Israeli forces withdrew from the camp without achieving the goals they
had set out raises many questions about who made real achievements in this
round of confrontation.

The army has announced that it intends to eliminate resistance groups,
cleanse the camp, restore its control over it and impose the presence of
the Palestinian Authority in it. However, none of these goals were
achieved, according to Israel. Israelis evaluations noted that achieving
such goals would mean invading the camp at its depth, which would come at a
heavy cost of human casualties for the Israelis, something the army has
sought to avoid by targeting resistance fighters from a distance, using
drones
<https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230703-israel-troops-and-drones-hit-jenin-in-major-west-bank-operation/>
and not engaging with them face to face.

Resistance fighters fought hard against the army, with its various
infantry, surveillance and elite units. This confrontation showed that the
resistance possessed strong field combat capabilities. In spite of not
venturing too deep into the camp, the occupation army suffered the loss of
one of its soldiers only a few hundred metres into it.

It was clear from the start that the army was not going to risk throwing
its soldier into the hornets' nest, instead it followed the scorched earth
policy and displaced thousands of the camp's residents.

The army aborted its latest aggression against Jenin, albeit temporarily,
without achieving its declared targets, for many reasons. The army was
afraid of facing surprises prepared by the resistance, and worried that its
soldiers would enter an unknown world of the resistance groups'
capabilities, realities and tactics, about which they know nothing.
Israel's worst nightmares are scenes of destroyed tanks, burning vehicles,
mutilated corpses and dead or captured soldiers.

*OPINION: The madness of the Israeli right-wing
<https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230707-the-madness-of-the-israeli-right-wing/>*

[image: Dead men tell no tales, could be Netanyahu and Ben-Gvir's MO toward
Palestinians - Cartoon [Sabaaneh/Middle East Monitor]]

Dead men tell no tales, could be Netanyahu and Ben-Gvir's MO toward
Palestinians – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/Middle East Monitor]

Another reason is that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who initiated the
aggression, seemed hesitant, because he knows nothing would damage his
image more than the bodies of soldiers being carried out of Jenin in
coffins. Another reason was that the army is no longer familiar with the
nature of Jenin from the inside, with expectations that the resistance
there is proficient in guerrilla warfare and the techniques of concealment
and camouflage.

Since the beginning of the aggression against Jenin, it was clear that the
resistance formed many combat units whose tasks were mainly to guard the
areas subject to invasion. They were stationed for monitoring and
surveillance, and most of their work was carried out at night and at the
lines of contact with the occupation, and at camp entrances.

Members of these units await their turn to carry out combat missions when
the opportunity presents itself. The units seemed to be armed in similar
ways where each unit is equipped with side and ground grenades, some of
which are fixed in position, while others are moved as needed. Members of
each group carry different weapons.

Fighters were working round the clock and had shift rotations for each
group, which was organised and difficult work. The main task entrusted to
them was the early warning and response to any decision to invade, and in
the event news about Israeli troops mobilising arrived, the news was
communicated and circulated to all groups. Other groups are also alerted
even if it's not their shift.

The Israeli army did not hide that its forces faced fierce resistance from
fighters in Jenin. Resistance fighters holed up in predetermined locations
at the outskirts of the camp, to surprise the Israeli occupation army,
inflicted losses among its troops, in a war of attrition that is difficult
for Israelis to bear. This prompted the political and military officials to
end the operation before it was too late.

*OPINION: Jenin is just the start: Did Palestinians finally bury the ghosts
of the past?
<https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230711-jenin-is-just-the-start-did-palestinians-finally-bury-the-ghosts-of-the-past/>*

After 48 hours of aggression on Jenin, Israeli officers and soldiers all
believed that the resistance built strong, organised groups made up of
military formations that cannot be underestimated. They noted a sudden and
unpredicted development of the performance of its fighters, as they fought
precise battles with the army and not suicidal engagements. They
demonstrated a high capacity for steadfastness, challenge and daring, as if
they had received advanced training.

With the end of the aggression on Jenin, albeit temporarily, the Israeli
press began accusing the army leadership and the government of concealing
what happened in the camp. Some leaked information said that the soldiers
could not bear the resistance they faced. Meanwhile, the resistance kept
issuing and publishing some of the accounts of its fighters who were in
direct contact with the soldiers, and their testimonies of what they
witnessed throughout the fighting on the front lines in the face of a
heavily armed occupier.

The occupation army managed its aggression against Jenin in a manner that
reduced casualties in its ranks, as the fears of its soldiers were many.
Soldiers' main obsession was that they would be subjected to sniper
operations, explosives and booby-trapped homes, with their biggest fear
being getting captured.

On the other hand, the resistance adopted new tactics based on carefully
studied steps and not hasty reactions. This gave it a bigger margin of
action and a better opportunity to protect its men, enabling it to activate
its tools effectively and efficiently. By tracking field developments, it
succeeded in maintaining its capabilities and paced its participating
effectively, without giving Israeli planes, deployed heavily in the skies
of Jenin, a chance to harm its fighters.

*OPINION: The extraordinary Palestinians of Jenin will not surrender
<https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230626-the-extraordinary-palestinians-of-jenin-will-not-surrender/>*

Therefore, the Israeli ground advance towards the camp appeared to be very
slow. Military vehicles advanced a few metres every hour, fearing the
explosive devices planted by the resistance fighters. The army believed
that fighters in Jenin were inspired by the ideas of the people of Gaza who
used to confront the occupation soldiers face to face and followed a
professional tactic in confronting the incursions. Their tactic focused on
devising a counter-incursion for the purpose of setting up ambushes for the
occupation. They did so through openings in houses, moving through them and
preparing ambushes for the army to surprise it.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not
necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://freedomarchives.org/pipermail/news_freedomarchives.org/attachments/20230711/9e73e5db/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image.png
Type: image/png
Size: 1772758 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://freedomarchives.org/pipermail/news_freedomarchives.org/attachments/20230711/9e73e5db/attachment.png>