Border incidents took IDF by surprise and may take heat off Assad
In recent days, the IDF extensively prepared for Nakba Day disturbances in the West Bank and East Jerusalem but was caught off-guard by the incident in the Golan Heights border area.
By Anshel Pfeffer Tags: Syria Bashar AssadIDF intelligence officials believed that there was a chance that Syrian President Bashar Assad would attempt to divert attention to Israel from the pro-democracy protests in his country and his regime's bloody suppression of those protests. But the protests in Syria have gone on for two months, creating the sense that those events are irrelevant to Israel, which dulled the level of alertness in the border region on the Golan Heights.
All of the IDF's attention over the past few days was given to preparing for Nakba Day events, including intelligence resources, the deployment of battalions in the West Bank and the distribution of means to disperse protests.
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Demonstrators on the Israel-Syria border in the Golan Heights, May 15, 2011. |
| Photo by: Yaron Kaminsky |
Although there is a high level of IDF forces on the Golan Heights, the number of soldiers along the border is relatively light. During routine times, relatively few soldiers operate in the area and most effort is invested in means of intelligence gathering on the hills along the border.
It is not clear how many soldiers were in the position above Majdal Shams, which overlooks the "Shouting Hill" in front of the town, but usually there are only a few soldiers under the command of a sergeant or platoon leader. This force is usually equipped only with personal weapons and live ammunition and not less lethal crowd dispersal weapons. If the soldiers had the crowd dispersal means, it is possible they could have chased back demonstrators before the demonstrators broke through the border fence.
According to initial reports, the demonstrators that broke through the border fence were not Syrians or Druze, but rather Palestinian refugees who reside in camps around Damascus. It is difficult to imagine that these refugees could have reached the border area without the knowledge, approval and perhaps even encouragement of the central government in the Syrian capital.
While attention was given over the weekend to the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the events that transpired on Nakba Day on the Golan Heights surprised the IDF and perhaps even gave Assad what he has been searching for over many weeks – an event that will reduce international pressure on him over the suppression of demonstrations in Syrian cities.
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The flotilla, the Carmel fires, now this. What a shame!
No matter what Israel does, it is serving short term objectives only. Ben Gurion said that Israel never won wars, it only won battles. You cannot ignore the rights of other people especially when they are your neighbours and more importantly when Israel creation caused their suffering.
How amazing! We were all aware that Palestinians were going to march on all of Israel's borders. Egypt asked to people not to march on Gaza for some reason. I thought the whole world (apart from Israeli intteligence) was aware of that fact!
Assad is fighting for his survival using all his troops to put down the unrest. Look at all the weapons coming into Syria. Regardless of what happens we have new sanctions on the regime and it has been weakened.
He and his troops are behaving nor worse than Bibi and the IDF. At least Syria is doing this in their own nation. Israel is doing their killing in Golan Heights, Internationally recognized as being part of Syria.
Nice antisemitic logic you have there.
what israel needs to do is send assad a secrete message.if you start a war with us, we will take damascus and other major cities and then hand them over to the opposition. But before doing this israel bibi needs to fire barak and hire someone who knows how to handle defense matters. this way syria knows that Israel means business
that the opposition will out of gratefulness to Israel then abandon the Golan, right? You think the Arabs have no pride, you think you can handle them with the same haughtiness as the Arab rulers, right?
israel is the biggest threat to world peace
I can see the IDF being surprised on the Golan Heights. The border with Syria is always very quite because the Assad regime rules it with iron hands. And besides, what business to the Palestinians have with the Golan? They view it as Syrian territory, so there is no reason for them to break in. It is then reasonable that the IDF was not prepared to disperse a crowd with non-lethal means. But what about Lebanon? There there are occasional clashes with civilians, usually Lebanese incited by Hizballah, so tear gas etc. must be available to the soldiers. Apparently, the IDF did not receive the proper instructions and now Israel will look like Assad. Barak fails again when dealing with human beings and human perceptions.
they don't - if you were to think about this in any serious way you would realize that the comment about Iran was not that stupid
It's Palestinians in Syria have their best access to Israel proper there. There are refugee camps not so far from Majdal Shams.
The Lebanese were killed by LEBANESE troops, not Israeli.
"At the Lebanese border Israeli troops shot at hundreds of Palestinians trying to cross, killing four protesters and wounding dozens more, according to Lebanese officials. - Today's New York Times// I am not saying the Lebanese officials are definitely right, but too many times Israel shot at Arab "legs" and got them killed, so the suspicion exists. The fact that no tear gas was fired, even according to Israel, raises the suspicion to a more solid level.
So how do YOU know it was the Lebanese? Or is it just wishful thinking?
So what if it had been going on for two months. The point is that with Nakba Day, Assad could use the Palestinian anger to his advantage. There is no excuse here - just irresponsible leadership.
Welcome to Fantasy Island. Separated from reality by the Jordan River and a myriad of fences, Fantasy Island ignores the reality surrounding it, and which it surrounds. The Boss is busy trying to get the inmates to become totally paranoid, while making the captives totally outraged. This he believes will leave him in total control of Fantasy Island.
I think they have some rights, except the right to citizenship in Syria, because of the Arab League. Maybe part of the solution to the right of return will occur when these other arab countries become more democratic and grant the Palestinians citizenship in their countries. If the Palestinians get their own country, not everyone is going to be able to return. However, I do think that they need their own identity, as part of their own country, which will be part of a solution.
... and grandchildren, can't go to Norway and demand some free land and maybe some welfare payments for the rest of all of our lives? The Arabs seem to have better lawyers or imagination than us.
Did he have a home and lnads which he was forced to leave behind?
It is difficult to imagine that these refugees could have reached the border area without the knowledge of the central government in the Israeli capital.
That the palestinians actually was intend on breaching the border, Israel is used to paleatinians gathering at the northern borders, but not used to people actually trying to breach the border. Dont forget that the palestinians also had to cross through syrian, lebanese and UN troops and managed to do that and not without help.
Israelis must demand more from their military decision makers. Everyone should be called on the carpet to explain their incompetence. Lives are at stake. WAKE UP BARAK!!!
,no wonder IDF was once more unprepared . Both of them are Barak's pick.
Do not blame Assad or the Iranians. The IDF should have protected the border. When the infiltrators approached why where there no warning shots? How did dozens of people cross? Why so few IDF soldiers at a very sensitive part of the border on this day?