Between the ISIS Ambush and the Fatah Elections
The primary defense event of the last week was the first combat encounter between the IDF and ISIS on the Golan Heights, but the most volatile arena remains the Palestinian front. Amir Rapaport's weekly column
Amir Rapaport
| 01/12/2016
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Mohammed Dahlan (Photo: AP)
The primary defense event of the last week was the combat encounter between the IDF and ISIS on the Golan Heights, but the most volatile arena remains the Palestinian front. The surge of arson incidents, the congress of the Fatah council and the results of the presidential elections in the USA are all connected to it. We'll get to that.
Let's start with ISIS: that combat encounter had not materialized 'out of the blue'. As far as the bare facts (at least those available from open sources) are concerned, the encounter took place after a Golani detachment came under fire having been identified by the other side while on ambush on the other side of the fence system, but still in an area regarded as Israeli territory according to the border line drawn on the maps.
It is very likely that the Golani detachment was intended to serve as bait. In any case, the surprising attack against an IDF detachment could be viewed against the background of the plight of ISIS in the south-eastern part of the Golan Heights, in the triangle formed by the borders between Israel, Jordan and Syria, close to the ravine of the Yarmouk River, not far from the town of Daraa. The inhabitants of this area had pledged allegiance to ISIS, and are under tremendous pressure to act against any enemy element while ISIS is under a major offensive in Northern Iraq and Northern Syria. Readily-available enemy elements include the elements of al-Qaeda deployed in the central Golan Heights (those who assassinated the local ISIS leader by detonating an explosive car delivered to him), and naturally – Israel.
ISIS had not ventured to tackle the IDF until last week, and for firing at the Golani ambush detail they paid dearly just before dawn on Sunday morning – an Israeli airborne platform eliminated four ISIS combatants in a strike launched while the incident was still in progress. Later on, IAF fighter aircraft attacked a local ISIS command post, which had been vacated beforehand.
The objective of this air strike was to clarify Israel's message – do not force the IDF into involvement in the Syrian civil war on the Golan Heights.
The strike was made possible owing to the understandings between Israel and Russia, according to which the advanced air-defense systems Russia had deployed in Western Syria would not be employed against Israeli aircraft operating in this area. As we reported here recently, last month an S-200 missile was launched at an IAF aircraft operating over Syria during another sortie. That particular matter is still under examination by Russia and Israel, and it appears that the Russian missile had been launched by a Syrian force. The missile did not hit the Israeli aircraft but could still have exploded inside Israeli territory if it had not dropped into the sea.
Meanwhile, reports in Syria indicated that IAF has attacked targets nearer to Damascus, and if those reports are true, then it will be reasonable to assume that the Russians are sending a message to the Syrian Army – not to use the advanced Russian-made missiles against IAF aircraft.
Palestinian Fire
The situation on the Palestinian front is even more complicated and has been the cause of considerable concern within the Israeli defense establishment. For example, the Israeli defense establishment has been monitoring with keen interest the Fatah congress held in Ramallah, with near-zero coverage on the part of the Israeli media – as if this event was a bit of some distant foreign news.
Well, the primary concern of the Israeli defense establishment is that the Palestinian arena could be approaching another violent eruption, as already indicated by the surge of massive fires last week, which included many incidents of arson.
Those arson incidents are yet another indication of the unrest within the Palestinian public (which in part is aimed at the Palestinian Authority itself). The results of the presidential elections in the USA enhanced the feelings of many within the Palestinian public that without another surge of violence, their cause will not become a part of the world's agenda.
Either way, the Fatah congress last week was extremely important as it marks the beginning of the fierce internal struggle over the future successor of Abu Mazen, the head of the Palestinian Authority.
Admittedly, the 81-year-old Palestinian leader was elected for an additional five-year term, but the chances of him remaining in office until the end of this term are regarded as very slim. The war of succession, whose champions are Mohammed Dahlan, hated by both Abu Mazen and Hamas, and Marwan Barghouti, who's serving a succession of consecutive life imprisonment sentences in Israeli prison, will be highly influential with regard to Israeli security unless another surge of terrorism using old-new tactics has erupted before the outcome of that war is decided. Incidentally, Hamas is also facing the process of electing a successor to the head of their political arm, Khaled Mashal, who resides in Qatar and is about to complete his term in office.
Not an Aircraft – a System
The following also received minimum media coverage this week: the Israeli cabinet endorsed the decision to acquire 17 additional F-35 ("Adir") fighters. The reason for the lack of media attention is the fact that the decision to complement the aircraft fleet to two squadrons, 50 Adir fighters, had been made in effect a long time ago, but was formally postponed only because of the fierce opposition led within the previous government by Minister Yuval Steinitz. Apparently, those were futile discussions. If the cabinet invested just five percent of the energy it had invested in the F-35 transaction in discussions regarding the submarine transaction with Germany, that move would not have emerged as such a negative picture.
Either way, the first two Adir fighters will arrive at Nevatim airbase, for a festive reception ceremony, on December 12.
Against this background, it is important to clarify that more than being a fighter aircraft intended for air strike or air combat missions, the Adir is a formidable intelligence-gathering and fire delivery system, capable of operating as a single platform or within a formation of aircraft, even at long distances and in areas covered by enemy Radar. The systemic capabilities are the ones that awarded this aircraft the title of 'Fifth Generation Fighter' within the evolution of world fighter aircraft.
Armored Corps in Distress
According to a recent report, more than 80 new IDF recruits preferred going to jail over enlisting in the IDF Armored Corps. This indicates the low point the Corps have reached. Once, in the glory days pursuant to the Six-Day War and the iconic book "Exposed in the Turret", the Armored Corps were regarded as the IDF's most important force.
This blow to the Armored Corps' prestige is a mirror image of the increased demand, among new recruits, for joining the Border Guard on the one hand and the technological services such as the cyber warfare units on the other hand. This has been the continued outcome of the changing modes of warfare – from battles between regular armed forces in open terrain to guerrilla warfare, which mainly involves urban operations.
Cooperation in Fire
Back to the air: last week, the dining room at Hatzor airbase filled with an assortment of foreign languages spoken by pilots who had come from around the world to assist in fighting the fires.
This global assistance, which included help from Arab countries, is yet another indication of Israel's improved diplomatic-defense position these days.
During the firefighting activity, each foreign pilot was teamed up with an Israeli pilot who flew with him. The cockpits of the Turkish firefighting aircraft were particularly unusual. These aircraft executed dangerous diving maneuvers in order to fill their tanks with water from the Mediterranean Sea. Joint Israeli-Turkish air crews were unthinkable only a few months ago until the two countries signed the reconciliation agreement, but things change very quickly in this region. For worse as well as for better.
The primary defense event of the last week was the first combat encounter between the IDF and ISIS on the Golan Heights, but the most volatile arena remains the Palestinian front. Amir Rapaport's weekly column
The primary defense event of the last week was the combat encounter between the IDF and ISIS on the Golan Heights, but the most volatile arena remains the Palestinian front. The surge of arson incidents, the congress of the Fatah council and the results of the presidential elections in the USA are all connected to it. We'll get to that.
Let's start with ISIS: that combat encounter had not materialized 'out of the blue'. As far as the bare facts (at least those available from open sources) are concerned, the encounter took place after a Golani detachment came under fire having been identified by the other side while on ambush on the other side of the fence system, but still in an area regarded as Israeli territory according to the border line drawn on the maps.
It is very likely that the Golani detachment was intended to serve as bait. In any case, the surprising attack against an IDF detachment could be viewed against the background of the plight of ISIS in the south-eastern part of the Golan Heights, in the triangle formed by the borders between Israel, Jordan and Syria, close to the ravine of the Yarmouk River, not far from the town of Daraa. The inhabitants of this area had pledged allegiance to ISIS, and are under tremendous pressure to act against any enemy element while ISIS is under a major offensive in Northern Iraq and Northern Syria. Readily-available enemy elements include the elements of al-Qaeda deployed in the central Golan Heights (those who assassinated the local ISIS leader by detonating an explosive car delivered to him), and naturally – Israel.
ISIS had not ventured to tackle the IDF until last week, and for firing at the Golani ambush detail they paid dearly just before dawn on Sunday morning – an Israeli airborne platform eliminated four ISIS combatants in a strike launched while the incident was still in progress. Later on, IAF fighter aircraft attacked a local ISIS command post, which had been vacated beforehand.
The objective of this air strike was to clarify Israel's message – do not force the IDF into involvement in the Syrian civil war on the Golan Heights.
The strike was made possible owing to the understandings between Israel and Russia, according to which the advanced air-defense systems Russia had deployed in Western Syria would not be employed against Israeli aircraft operating in this area. As we reported here recently, last month an S-200 missile was launched at an IAF aircraft operating over Syria during another sortie. That particular matter is still under examination by Russia and Israel, and it appears that the Russian missile had been launched by a Syrian force. The missile did not hit the Israeli aircraft but could still have exploded inside Israeli territory if it had not dropped into the sea.
Meanwhile, reports in Syria indicated that IAF has attacked targets nearer to Damascus, and if those reports are true, then it will be reasonable to assume that the Russians are sending a message to the Syrian Army – not to use the advanced Russian-made missiles against IAF aircraft.
Palestinian Fire
The situation on the Palestinian front is even more complicated and has been the cause of considerable concern within the Israeli defense establishment. For example, the Israeli defense establishment has been monitoring with keen interest the Fatah congress held in Ramallah, with near-zero coverage on the part of the Israeli media – as if this event was a bit of some distant foreign news.
Well, the primary concern of the Israeli defense establishment is that the Palestinian arena could be approaching another violent eruption, as already indicated by the surge of massive fires last week, which included many incidents of arson.
Those arson incidents are yet another indication of the unrest within the Palestinian public (which in part is aimed at the Palestinian Authority itself). The results of the presidential elections in the USA enhanced the feelings of many within the Palestinian public that without another surge of violence, their cause will not become a part of the world's agenda.
Either way, the Fatah congress last week was extremely important as it marks the beginning of the fierce internal struggle over the future successor of Abu Mazen, the head of the Palestinian Authority.
Admittedly, the 81-year-old Palestinian leader was elected for an additional five-year term, but the chances of him remaining in office until the end of this term are regarded as very slim. The war of succession, whose champions are Mohammed Dahlan, hated by both Abu Mazen and Hamas, and Marwan Barghouti, who's serving a succession of consecutive life imprisonment sentences in Israeli prison, will be highly influential with regard to Israeli security unless another surge of terrorism using old-new tactics has erupted before the outcome of that war is decided. Incidentally, Hamas is also facing the process of electing a successor to the head of their political arm, Khaled Mashal, who resides in Qatar and is about to complete his term in office.
Not an Aircraft – a System
The following also received minimum media coverage this week: the Israeli cabinet endorsed the decision to acquire 17 additional F-35 ("Adir") fighters. The reason for the lack of media attention is the fact that the decision to complement the aircraft fleet to two squadrons, 50 Adir fighters, had been made in effect a long time ago, but was formally postponed only because of the fierce opposition led within the previous government by Minister Yuval Steinitz. Apparently, those were futile discussions. If the cabinet invested just five percent of the energy it had invested in the F-35 transaction in discussions regarding the submarine transaction with Germany, that move would not have emerged as such a negative picture.
Either way, the first two Adir fighters will arrive at Nevatim airbase, for a festive reception ceremony, on December 12.
Against this background, it is important to clarify that more than being a fighter aircraft intended for air strike or air combat missions, the Adir is a formidable intelligence-gathering and fire delivery system, capable of operating as a single platform or within a formation of aircraft, even at long distances and in areas covered by enemy Radar. The systemic capabilities are the ones that awarded this aircraft the title of 'Fifth Generation Fighter' within the evolution of world fighter aircraft.
Armored Corps in Distress
According to a recent report, more than 80 new IDF recruits preferred going to jail over enlisting in the IDF Armored Corps. This indicates the low point the Corps have reached. Once, in the glory days pursuant to the Six-Day War and the iconic book "Exposed in the Turret", the Armored Corps were regarded as the IDF's most important force.
This blow to the Armored Corps' prestige is a mirror image of the increased demand, among new recruits, for joining the Border Guard on the one hand and the technological services such as the cyber warfare units on the other hand. This has been the continued outcome of the changing modes of warfare – from battles between regular armed forces in open terrain to guerrilla warfare, which mainly involves urban operations.
Cooperation in Fire
Back to the air: last week, the dining room at Hatzor airbase filled with an assortment of foreign languages spoken by pilots who had come from around the world to assist in fighting the fires.
This global assistance, which included help from Arab countries, is yet another indication of Israel's improved diplomatic-defense position these days.
During the firefighting activity, each foreign pilot was teamed up with an Israeli pilot who flew with him. The cockpits of the Turkish firefighting aircraft were particularly unusual. These aircraft executed dangerous diving maneuvers in order to fill their tanks with water from the Mediterranean Sea. Joint Israeli-Turkish air crews were unthinkable only a few months ago until the two countries signed the reconciliation agreement, but things change very quickly in this region. For worse as well as for better.
