[News] What Do We Know About Breaking the Israeli Army's 'Dry Arm'?

[Anti-Imperialist News]

palestinechronicle.com
<https://www.palestinechronicle.com/what-do-we-know-about-breaking-the-israeli-armys-dry-arm-analysis/>
What Do We Know About Breaking the Israeli Army's 'Dry Arm'? - AnalysisJanuary
11, 2025
------------------------------
The Palestinian Resistance has shattered the myth of Israeli military
invincibility. (Design: Palestine Chronicle)

*By Palestine Chronicle Staff
<https://www.palestinechronicle.com/writers/palestine-chronicle-staff>*

Mahdi Azouz writes in the Al-Jazeera Arabic website, reflecting on the
shifting dynamics of the war, noting how the resistance has disrupted
Israel’s once formidable military force and shattered the myth of its
invincibility.

*Editor’s Note: The phrase “الذراع اليابسة” has multiple interpretations,
and in this context, it can be translated as “Iron Fist,” “Unyielding Arm,”
“Barren Arm,” or “Dry Arm,” reflecting the assumed strength and resilience
attributed to the Israeli military.*

The tactics of Palestinian resistance have evolved after more than a year
of constant confrontation with the occupying forces. With every new phase,
the resistance diversifies its methods of attack. In the last week of
December, the intifada saw the rise of stabbing attacks, breaches, and
suicide bombings, along with the traditional tactics that have accompanied
the battle since the beginning of the aggression.

The northern Gaza Strip, which the “generals’ plan” turned into scorched
earth, was transformed by the resistance into a “snake-hunting” ground. The
blessed land will not betray its people. Abu Obeida briefly appeared to
give the assessment of the battle, praising the “inspiring heroism of the
resistance fighters” for the entire free world to witness and challenging
the enemy to reveal its losses.

The occupation’s army is no longer able to decisively win battles as it
once did. The quick victories it once enjoyed have been stripped of their
conditions, leaving only their historical memory. The resistance was born
to deter “deterrence” and to defeat the “invincible” army.
*The “Dry Arm”*

The term “Dry Arm” is a translation of the Hebrew phrase “Zroa Yavishah,”
which refers to the occupation’s army, symbolizing its previous victorious
encounters with Arab armies, which were often easily broken.

>From the Nakba of 1948 to the defeat of June 1967, the Israeli army had
been able to win its rapid wars. However, the resistance has proven that
the “Dry Arm” can be broken. This is one of the undeniable facts of the
ongoing struggle.

It is well-known that the Zionist project is a “settler-colonial” project,
founded through the ability to circumvent international resolutions and
maintain a state of militarization. It is no coincidence that the
establishment of the Israeli state coincided with the declaration of the
temporary government’s head, David Ben Gurion, about the birth of the
Israeli army on May 26, 1948. This synchronization proved that the military
was the backbone of the Zionist project and that violence is an inherent
and defining feature of the newly created state.

Herzl described Zionism as a “colonial idea,” which is why the Israeli army
carries the characteristics of colonial armies in its structure, ideology,
and combat performance, implementing colonial methods to subjugate peoples.

It is no surprise that the Israeli army was founded from the ashes of the
British Mandate in Palestine and from the smoke of the 1948 conflict
between the Arabs and Zionist militias. When we add the settler aspect of
the Zionist project, we understand the nature of militarization.

Settler societies, by their very nature, are militarized, as “the settler
myth can only be realized through the use of force.” In the face of
constant security concerns and perceived threats, the Israeli state
maintains a high state of readiness for deterrence, along with continuous
mobilization, adding to the militarization of both the state and society.
This has given birth to the concept of the “armed nation,” as Israelis
refer to themselves.

Thus, over more than seven decades, Israel has established one of the
world’s most professional and powerful militaries, ensuring the existence
of the state. During its conflicts with Arab armies, Israel was the
dominant force in initiating and ending battles.
*Past Conflicts*

The first rounds of the Arab-Zionist conflict came with the end of the
British Mandate in 1947. Zionist militias fought against the weak Arab
armies in a war the Zionists called the “War of Independence,” though it
was in fact the Nakba. Despite the harshness of the Nakba, history
remembers some Arab military figures with honor, such as the martyr Abdul
Qadir al-Husseini.

The Zionist militias defeated the regular Arab armies through military
operations and international conspiracies. The state of Israel emerged as
the price for these victories. Thus, 1948 became viewed as a “sacred year,”
the “foundational source” of the state. The militias later evolved into the
“Defense Forces.”

It was the first army in history to spring from killing and destruction
gangs. The ethics of the newly-formed army naturally mirrored those of the
defeated militias, and the “military conduct of Israeli soldiers in the
1948 battlefield became a model for future generations,” as Noam Chomsky
noted. For Arabs, this war was a violent shock that “upended many political
and intellectual certainties, replacing them with new ones.”

Barely had the Arabs begun to recover from the Nakba when the June 1967
defeat struck, marking another painful chapter of accumulated defeats. In a
matter of days, Arabs suffered a crushing loss.

The Israeli “blitzkrieg” on June 5, 1967, knocked Egyptian air forces out
of action, as well as those on the Jordanian and Syrian fronts. By the end
of the war, the Israeli army had seized new territories: Egypt lost Sinai
and Gaza, Jordan lost the West Bank and Jerusalem, and Syria lost the Golan
Heights, thus deepening Israel’s strategic position.

That tragic event dramatically shifted the Arab psyche, embedding a
constant sense of defeat. The Arab intelligence state collapsed, along with
its social democracy. The defeat became the objective equivalent of a
repressive Arab state and its humiliated citizens. Through these easy
victories, the Israeli army gained a reputation as the “invincible army.”

https://www.palestinechronicle.com/a-palestinian-year-in-review-genocide-resistance-and-unanswered-questions/
*Combat Doctrine*

Despite the partial victory in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the Israelis
continued to control the battlefield initiative. The security doctrine of
the Israeli state was shaped by the two prior defeats, focusing on
“enhancing deterrence, strategic warning, and the speed of decision-making.”

However, after the 2006 Lebanon War, Israeli revisions acknowledged the end
of conventional wars. Today, limited and asymmetrical confrontations with
non-state organizations (such as Hezbollah and Hamas) have become the norm,
reducing the significance of wars between states.

Nevertheless, these defeats and disasters sparked a debate over state and
politics in the Arab world. Ideological clashes over freedom, liberation,
resistance, and recovery from defeat ensued, giving rise to new approaches
in managing the conflict.
*Al-Aqsa Flood*

Since the Second Intifada, the military confrontation has shifted from
state armies to non-state organizations, from conventional wars to
asymmetrical warfare.

Gaza, in particular, has witnessed numerous rounds of conflict. From 2008
to 2023, several battles occurred, including “Operation Cast Lead” in 2008,
“Operation Pillar of Defense” in 2012, “Operation Protective Edge” in 2014,
and “Operation Guardian of the Walls” in 2021. The most recent
(Palestinian) operation, known as “The Flood,” encapsulated this shift.
Through this cumulative resistance, the spirit of defiance continued to
grow.

Despite the vast imbalance in power, the resistance managed to combine
military effectiveness, intelligence awareness, and unprecedented knowledge
of the enemy, making planning and execution easier.

When the resistance initiated a surprise attack, it denied the Israeli army
the advantage of the first strike. The enemy was confronted on land, sea,
and air. The resistance killed, captured, displaced, and seized territory,
engaging in fierce battles across Gaza’s border cities, leading to
paralysis within the Israeli army. When Israel tried to regain initiative,
the resistance had already outpaced them.

The ground war was no less harsh on the Israelis. The Israeli army entered
the war in a state of moral collapse. Faced with intelligence failure, it
was unable to build successful military operations and got bogged down in
Gaza’s quicksand. When the two sides met in battle, every Gaza city was
like a state with its own army. Gaza itself became a blazing land.

The resistance fighter appeared suddenly, and carried out attacks with
missiles, explosives, or mines, inflicting heavy losses on the enemy before
disappearing. In all this, the resistance deprived the occupier of
achieving its objectives.

When it came to objectives, the resistance was more realistic. Netanyahu’s
goals were lost as the war on Gaza proved “a war that cannot be won.”
Meanwhile, “The Flood” was able to discredit the occupation’s narrative,
end its political campaign of historical victimhood, and halt the decline
of the Arab world. Most importantly, it broke the “Dry Arm.”

*(The views expressed in the article do not necessarily reflect the
editorial position of The Palestine Chronicle.)*
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://freedomarchives.org/pipermail/news_freedomarchives.org/attachments/20250111/086ebd30/attachment-0001.htm>