BREAKING DAWN

I doubt if can add anything you don’t already know about operation “Breaking Dawn.” Just the same, I’ll begin with a synopsis of the brief over-the-weekend clash with Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). The conflagration began  after days of tense uncertainty following the arrest of Bassem al-Saadi, Islamic Jihad’s top commander in the West Bank. The IDF has conducted near-nightly raids across the West Bank since mid-March, in response to a wave of Palestinian terror attacks on Israeli citizens.

While Islamic Jihad did not respond aggressively after Saadi’s arrest, it did issue an ultimatum to Israel threatening retaliation unless certain demands were met, most of all, the release of Bassam al-Saadi. Faced with an imminent threat clearly definable as Casus Belli, Israel had the right to take preemptive action against the PIJ. In the past when faced with similar situations Israeli leaders have taken the advice given in the Babylonian Talmud – “When someone comes to kill you, rise early and kill him first.”  Rather than “Turn the other cheek,” the IDF struck first.

The consequences of a preemptive attack were obvious. Foreign news outlets, international rights organisations, and countries that censured Israel on previous occasions won’t be confused by the facts this time too. They had made up their minds before the first shot was fired.

Predictably, some friends and allies were concerned about international reaction to operation “Breaking Dawn.” When Israel was a fledgling state with less firepower and fewer friends. David Ben Gurion responded tersely to similar concern about international reaction- “It doesn’t matter what the Goyim will say. it’s what the Jews will do that matters.” (My rendition). B.G used the word Goyim in the biblical sense, meaning nations.

Bethan McKernan, reporting from Jerusalem for The Guardian was careful to phrase her account of the events in a way that left the reader wondering if Israel’s narrative could be trusted. Ms. McKernan used the standard “The IDF says…”, “Israel claims,” even in cases where the IDF spokespersons were prepared to provide video footage supporting the Israeli account. Bethan McKernan quoted health authorities in Gaza to add extra weight to her report seemingly accepting their version of events as “the gospel truth.”

Emily Schrader wrote an op-ed for the Jerusalem Post on the problem of bias in the international news media. “Where Palestinian claims are taken for fact, even when they come from terrorist organisations, Israeli claims backed by evidence are regarded with scepticism.” She said.

Here is a case in point: In the immediate aftermath of explosions near Jabaliya refugee camp, Palestinian sources and social media claimed that the IDF had bombed children, sharing disturbing photos of injured and bloodied children across social media channels. The news immediately was picked up by multiple sources in the international media.

The IDF, however, hadn’t operated in that area for hours meaning it couldn’t possibly have been responsible for the casualties.

The Israeli government and the IDF quickly issued a statement and provided aerial video footage of the Islamic Jihad rocket barrage that was fired at Israeli civilian targets but misfired, plummeting back to Jabaliya killing and injuring innocent bystanders. There were other like instances and several failed rocket launchings that caused deaths and injuries. They too will likely be attributed to “Israeli aggression.”

Emily Schrader noted that after the truth was revealed, several media sources updated their information, while most sources didn’t cover the story at all or the fact that hundreds of rockets fell short killing an estimated 16 Palestinian civilians over the weekend (incidentally more civilian casualties than Israel was allegedly responsible for in all of their airstrikes against Islamic Jihad targets).

“The New York Times didn’t initially report on the story, and while both CNN and the BBC mentioned the Jabaliya attack within larger articles about the entire operation, both of them reported it as an Israeli claim that has been disputed. The BBC article stated that Israel accused PIJ militants of accidentally causing at least some of those deaths, adding that the BBC has not been able to independently verify this claim.

 

At this juncture, I want to add a few observations.

 The Gaza Strip is constantly under surveillance by Israeli drones and aircraft. It is the most intensely watched area on the planet. Consequently, PIJ manoeuvres and preparations for an offensive were clearly evident.

On the other hand, the IDF’s preparations for a preemptive attack have been in the making for a long time. They were finely honed, waiting for an opportunity to present itself.

One Israeli munitions expert reasoned that the reason some PIJ rockets misfire could be a faulty production batch or an inferior locally manufactured series that fails to launch properly.

 The London-based print and digital news outlet Asharq al-Awsat posted a scoop divulging information about the assassination of Tayseer Jabari, Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s (PIJ) commander in northern Gaza. However, the same information was openly shared with viewers on TV channel 12. Nevertheless, Asharq al-Awsat gave the following account:

“The assassination came at the start of the military campaign Israel launched against Gaza last Friday.

According to our sources, the IDF deployed two new weapons, including a smart bomb, to destroy the apartment where Jabari was staying.

Sources said that accurate intelligence information about the presence of Jabari in the apartment arrived at eight o’clock in the evening on Thursday.

After confirming Jabari’s whereabouts, Israeli forces carried out their assassination plan. (Margin note: The IDF postponed the assassination several times because uninvolved bystanders were observed nearby.)  

Jabari had been living for days in an apartment located on the sixth floor of the Palestine Tower in Gaza, which is a 14-storey building containing 28 spacious apartments.

Israeli intelligence had previously ‘obtained’ the apartment building’s construction plans enabling it to calculate the dimensions, the type of reinforced concrete used in the construction, and other essential details   

Israeli forces used an innovative way to target Jabari so that the operation caused only minimal damage to the building and the neighbouring area.

The IDF used a bomb that penetrated an empty room in the apartment on the seventh floor. The bomb exploded, destroying just the floor, and collapsing the ceiling on Jabari in the apartment below, killing him.

Seconds later, jet fighters fired seven more missiles from different angles at the apartment to ascertain that Jabari and any possible associates were eliminated.

The objectives of the assassination operation were accomplished in just 170 seconds.”

 

In an op-ed he wrote for the Times of Israel David Horowitz said “Israel got to start, conduct and end this round of fighting broadly as it hoped because Hamas chose not to get involved. This was not because Hamas has abandoned its strategic goal of destroying Israel, but because it does not believe it can destroy Israel right now.

Israeli officials believe Hamas chose not to get dragged into this conflict because it was deterred by last year’s Operation Guardian of the Walls, and because the outgoing coalition has offered economic carrots as well as sticks to Gaza, notably including 14,000 work permits, that Hamas does not want to lose.

Nobody should delude themselves that Hamas is becoming less of a strategic threat to Israel. If anything, the reverse is true. It chose to exercise short-term restraint when under pressure to join its ally-rival in battering the loathed Zionists because it assessed that this better serves its long-term anti-Israel ambitions.”

 

Last but certainly not least the much-improved Iron Dome Defence System chalked up a 96% successful interception rate. About 1,100 projectiles were fired at Israel over the three days of fighting, and thanks to the combination of the Iron Dome, reinforced rooms and a disciplined public, there were no Israeli fatalities.

We are looking forward to a quiet and uneventful weekend.

Take care.

 

Beni                                                    11^th of August, 2022.