Dahiya doctrine
The Dahiya doctrine refers to asymmetric warfare in an urban setting in which a conventional army targets civilian infrastructure used by terrorists.[1] Employed by the Israel Defense Forces, the doctrine is named after a Hizbullah stronghold in Beirut with large apartment buildings that doubled as Hizbullah command-and-control centers, which were bombed by the IDF during the 2006 Lebanon War.[1][2]
A 2009 report by the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel defined the doctrine: "The military approach expressed in the Dahiye Doctrine deals with asymmetrical combat against an enemy that is not a regular army and is embedded within civilian population; its objective is to avoid a protracted guerilla war. According to this approach Israel has to employ tremendous force disproportionate to the magnitude of the enemy’s actions." The report further argues that the doctrine was fully implemented during Operation Cast Lead.[3]
Israeli journalist Yaron London wrote in 2008 that the doctrine, "will become entrenched in our security discourse" following the alleged Iranian takeover of Lebanon and the mobilization of the latter country's social infrastructure in support of Hizbullah.[4]
The 2009 Goldstone report quoted IDF Northern Command Chief Gadi Eisenkot, who said, "What happened in the Dahiya quarter of Beirut in 2006 will happen in every village from which Israel is fired on. We will apply disproportionate force on it and cause great damage and destruction there. From our standpoint, these are not civilian villages, they are military bases. [...] This is not a recommendation. This is a plan. And it has been approved."[5][6]
See also
References
- ^ a b Yaakov Katz, Analysis: The Dahiya Doctrine vs. the Goldstone Report, Jerusalem Post 25-01-2010
- ^ The Self-Fulfilling Dahiya Doctrine
- ^ "No Second Thoughts" The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel
- ^ "Israel finally realizes that Arabs should be accountable for their leaders’ acts" The Dahiya strategy, according to IDF Northern Command Chief Gadi Eisenkot. Interview in Yedioth Ahronoth. 10.06.08.
- ^ Report of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict (September 15, 2009). "HUMAN RIGHTS IN PALESTINE AND OTHER OCCUPIED ARAB TERRITORIES" (PDF). The Guardian. Retrieved 2009-09-15.
- ^ "From our standpoint, these are not civilian villages, they are military bases" Israel warns Hizbullah war would invite destruction, Maj.-Gen. Eisenkot tells Yedioth Ahronoth. 10.03.08