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The IDF's Mission

(Jerusalem Post) Caroline B. Glick - A visit with the forces in the northern Gaza Strip provides an opportunity to observe firsthand just how smart and effective a fighting force the IDF is. Every day the IDF foils terror attacks, catching terrorists who hide like needles in haystacks or attack like thieves in the night. The precision of IDF operations is impressive. From April to August, the IDF killed 141 terrorists in Gaza and, aside from its hit on Salah Shehadeh, has killed only eight civilians. At the headquarters of the northern brigade, senior officers show visiting journalists videotapes of recent battles between soldiers and terrorists. In one, two Palestinians near Dugit wound two soldiers. The soldiers kill one terrorist, but the second keeps shooting. In an act of heart-stopping heroism, the soldiers' commander, whose ammunition had run out, runs directly into the terrorist and fights him hand to hand until he kills him. From the beginning of April until the end of August, the Palestinians in Gaza carried out 1,452 attacks against IDF and civilian targets: 682 shootings, 320 grenade attacks, 284 mortar attacks, 52 anti-tank missile attacks, 23 rocket attacks, 47 attempted infiltrations, five of which were successful, 64 roadside bombs, and three booby-trapped vehicles. But in all these attacks the terrorists caused no civilian casualties. Since the government decided to transfer security power back to Yasser Arafat's forces in Gaza and Bethlehem, the IDF has redeployed from certain areas in Gaza and has allowed the PA's forces to operate more or less freely in them. "While the Palestinians have stopped some terrorists en route to attacks, they have taken no active role in thwarting terrorism. They have conducted no raids or arrests," a senior officer noted.
2002-09-06 00:00:00
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