Operation Defensive Shield

Operation Defensive Shield
Part of the Al-Aqsa Intifada
File:Ramallah 2002.jpg Israeli tanks in Ramallah
Date 2002. Location West Bank Result Turning point in Al-Aqsa Intifada. Extensive damage to terrorist infrastructure in Judea and Samaria, arrest of leading Palestinian terrorist figures and hundreds more low-level activists, widespread destruction of "Palestinian private and public property"
Belligerents
Israel (Israel Defense Forces)	Fatah (Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades & Tanzim) Hamas Palestinian Islamic Jihad Palestinian security forces
Commanders and leaders
Aluf Itzhak Eitan (Central commander)
Strength
Golani Brigade, Nahal Brigade, Paratroopers Brigade, 5th Reserve Infantry Brigade, 408th Reserve Infantry Brigade, Jerusalem Brigade(reserve), Shayetet 13, Armor and Engineering forces.
Casualties and losses
29 Dead, over 100 wounded.	Around 250 dead Hundreds wounded Hundreds captured Important intelligence obtained

Operation Defensive Shield (Hebrew: מבצע חומת מגן) was a large-scale military operation conducted by the Israel Defense Forces in April 2002 after a series of terrorist attacks launched against Israel. It was the largest military operation in the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War.

Background

In March 2002, more than 135 Israeli civilians were killed in terrorist attacks committed by Palestinian groups such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades (the military branch of Fatah). These attacks reached their peak on March 27, 2002, with the event known as the Passover massacre, in which a Palestinian suicide bomber killed 30 people at the Park Hotel in Netanya (28 immediately, then two more died from their injuries).

Within twenty-four hours, the Israel Defense Forces had issued emergency call-up notices for 30,000 reserve soldiers, the largest such call-up since the 1982 Lebanon War.

Goals

The stated goals of the operation (as conveyed to the Israeli Knesset by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on April 8, 2002) were to "enter cities and villages which have become havens for terrorists; to catch and arrest terrorists and, primarily, their dispatchers and those who finance and support them; to confiscate weapons intended to be used against Israeli citizens; to expose and destroy terrorist facilities and explosives, laboratories, weapons production factories and secret installations. The orders are clear: target and paralyze anyone who takes up weapons and tries to oppose our troops, resists them or endanger them - and to avoid harming the civilian population."

The operation

Template:Arab-Israeli conflict 2002 By April 3, the IDF was conducting major military operations in all Palestinian cities with the exception of Hebron and Jericho. The major points of conflict were:

• Bethlehem
• Jenin
• Nablus
• Ramallah

During the operation, strict curfews were placed on at least six major Palestinian cities, resulting in complaints by human rights groups that essential medical attention was being denied to sick and elderly Palestinians, as well as complaints that Israel was practicing collective punishment, which is prohibited under the Fourth Geneva Convention. In some cities, there were scheduled breaks in the curfews. In others, curfews continued uninterrupted for a week or more.

Throughout the two weeks of fighting in Jenin and for a few days afterward, the city and its refugee camp were under curfew.

The city of Bethlehem and its environs remained under curfew for five weeks, though there were periodic breaks, until an impasse involving Palestinian gunmen [1] who had sought refuge in the Church of the Nativity was resolved [2]. Most of the armed Palestinians in the Church of the Nativity agreed to go to the Gaza Strip. The rest were exiled to Cyprus.

In reply to these complaints, the Israeli army stated that the curfew was placed in order to prevent civilians from being caught in gunfights and getting hurt. Palestinian ambulances were stopped for checks following the discovery of an explosive belt in a Red Crescent ambulance.(Higgins, Alexander G., "International Red Cross says 'unacceptable' Israeli actions curbed its West Bank operations," Associated Press Newswires, 6 April 2002.)

One of the most notorious and controversial events of current conflict between Israel and the Palestinians was the April, 2002 Israeli invasion of Jenin Refugee Camp. For weeks, the Israeli army assaulted the camp with helicopters, tanks, bulldozers, and troops. There was much concern at the time about possible human rights violations occurring in the camp. However, reports of a large-scale massacre there were later found to be false. Other notable events were the siege of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and the siege of Yasser Arafat's compound.

Aftermath

The operation officially ended on May 10, 2002, although occupations and curfews continued after that time, gradually tapering off. Shortly afterwards, Operation Determined Path was launched.

A poll conducted after the end of the operation indicated that 86 percent of Israeli Jews thought that the operation contributed to Israel's security, but 54 percent thought the Operation has damaged Israel politically. However, in the final analysis, fully 90 percent of those surveyed asserted that the decision to launch Operation Defensive Shield was the correct decision. Views among Israeli Arabs were the opposite, with equally high numbers against the Operation.

According to the Guardian, at least 500 Palestinians were killed and 1500 were wounded. According to the Palestinian Red Crecent over 4,258 detained by the Israeli military. The Israeli offensive also left 29 Israeli soldiers dead, and 127 wounded. The World Bank estimated that over $360 million worth of damage was caused to Palestinian infrastructure and institutions. $158 million of which came from the massive aerial bombardment and destruction of houses in Nablus and Jenin. Large sectors of the Palestinian population were left homeless by the Operation. ([3])

Human Rights Watch as well as Amnesty International determined that "Israeli forces committed serious violations of international humanitarian law, some amounting prima facie to war crimes." ([4]) This had to be established after the fact because the IDF would not allow human rights observers, nor journalists, in the camps during the operations. Collective punishment, indiscriminate killings, using human shields and the denial of adequate access to food and medical supplies are cited within the investigations.

A UN fact-finding mission was to be established under UN Security Council Resolution 1405 (April 19, 2002) to investigate the operations in Jenin. Initially Israel seemed to welcome an investigation but later refused to cooperate. They cited 'media distortions' as to what actually occurred in the camp as the reason.([5]) However, it was Israel that denied journalists access to the camp which in turn resulted in flawed second hand reporting. Palestinian cabinet minister Saeb Erekat was widely misquoted by the press as saying there were 500 deaths in the assault on Jenin, when in fact he had been referring to the entire scope of Operation Defensive Shield.([6]) Israeli foreign minister Shimon Peres is quoted (in Haaretz) as saying "When the world sees the pictures of what we have done there, it will do us immense damage."

References

1. Israeli Government Communique April 21, 2002
2. REPORT OF SECRETARY-GENERAL ON RECENT EVENTS IN JENIN, OTHER PALESTINIAN CITIES August 1, 2002

See also

• Battle of Jenin

• Passover suicide bombing at Park Hotel in Netanya
• The Battle of Jenin, Time Magazine
• Israelbooks.com Goldenberg, Doron (2003). State of Siege. Gefen Publishing House.