Israel Defense Forces Briefing

Briefing: Major General Giora Eiland, Head of IDF Planning Branch And Colonel Miri Eisen April 5, 2002

Operation “Defense Shield”, from its inception, was underpinned by two goals:

2) To destroy or at least reduce significantly the capability of Palestinian terrorists

After less than one week, we may confidently note that these goals have largely been achieved:

1) We have succeeded in reducing terrorist activity, though we are unable to guarantee its re-emergence in the future.

2) We have detained over 1200 individuals for interrogation, some of whom are among the most wanted and extremely dangerous terrorists.

3) We uncovered an abundance of ammunition, arms, weapons, explosives labs and equipment, the existence of which is forbidden according to the provisions of signed agreements between Israel and the PA.

Bethlehem is an extremely sensitive venue. Dozens of armed Palestinians, including that city’s Governor, seized the Church of the Nativity, forcing civilians and clergy members on the premises to remain as hostages.

With respect to the duration of this operation, President Bush, in his recent speech, stressed the failure of the PA, and of Arafat in particular, in fighting terrorism. The implication of his speech is that something dramatic action will be taken against terror in order that we may withdraw from the areas in question. That is also the objective underlying the current efforts of General Zinni.

And as for the claim, according to which terror will cease once Israel withdraws from these territories, the IDF withdrew 22 months ago from Lebanon to the international border – a move confirmed by the U.N. Secretary General. Despite this, three months later, terrorist activity was instigated by the Hizbollah with the kidnapping of three Israeli soldiers. Hence, withdrawal, in and of itself, is no guarantee that terrorism will be stopped unless necessary actions are taken.

The longer the duration of the operation, the better our chances are of achieving its goals.

Arafat may be likened to a zookeeper who recklessly decides to release all of the dangerous lions.

The document presented is an official report of the Palestinian General Intelligence, prepared by Tulkarm-based Fatah-Tanzim and sent to Tawfiq Tirawi, Head of Palestinian Intelligence. It states unequivocally that Arafat is funding the activities of Tanzim.

It even explains in explicit detail one of the suicide bombings that took place in Hadera at a Bat Mitzvah celebration, replete with details about its planning, execution and those individuals involved.

The report underscores the link of Arafat and Barghouti to terrorist activities.

A: It is not an interpretation of his speech but rather a restating thereof, the main message of which is that the PA has not fought terrorism.

Q: What would be considered “dramatic action” against terror resulting from the IDF operation?

A: This is a long campaign that requires many efforts. If extended long enough, terrorism will be reduced.

A: This is strictly from a military perspective. We understand that there are restrictions that might result in its being abbreviated.

Q: Do you intend to take over the Church of the Nativity under any circumstances?

A: We do not intend to invade the site or destroy it, but we do intend to arrest those armed and dangerous terrorists hiding therein.

Q: With respect to the statement about the IDF withdrawal from Lebanon, do you believe it was a mistake?

A: I prefer not to comment on something that happened two years ago. But keep in mind that the Hizbollah seeks the destruction of the state of Israel. This is its basic ideological predisposition. The fact that Arafat has never openly accepted Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state means that he shares this ideology. The only difference between them is the tactics employed.

A: We declared that area a few days ago as a closed military area. Despite this, when several reporters entered the building because we did not want a confrontation, several wanted Palestinians left the building with them. Today, reporters attempted to enter the area despite its designation as a closed military area. There was no use of live ammunition against them.

A: We did not take any actions that might have damaged the building, but there are Palestinian gunmen inside and they might very well have caused this.

A: We employ different methods in capturing terrorists. In this particular case, I don’t have enough details of the operation at my disposal and so I do not want to mislead you.

A: We did not shoot at the building. The Palestinians provoked us by opening fire on our forces, but we did not return fire. We found five bodies with evidence of brutal violence. They were suspected of collaborating with us. We found twelve other Palestinians murdered in cold blood only because they too were similarly suspected.

A: We know of three groups: Civilians who work there, gunmen, and public service personnel (e.g. the Military Governor of Bethlehem, etc.) We have direct negotiations with them.

A: Yes, we do this in each of the cities periodically in order to ease the hardships experienced by the civilian population.

Q: What is the IDF policy regarding ambulances? In Bethlehem, there was a wounded civilian forced to wait two hours.

A: Ambulances have become the primary means through which the Palestinians transport arms and armed personnel, as witnessed in the incident two weeks ago, in which an explosive belt was hidden inside an ambulance.

A: Absolutely not; ours is a response in self-defense to vicious acts of terror directed at innocent civilians in populated areas.

A: There are nuns, priests and civilians inside so we must exercise extreme caution and patience. At the same time, there are also terrorists inside, some of whom are wanted for heinous actions in Jerusalem and other places.

A: It is hard to know. We realize that it is mostly Hammas, Islamic Jihad, Tanzim and, in an unorganized fashion, Palestinian policemen as well.

A: I suggest waiting till the briefing that will specifically address this matter, but I must say it is not surprising.

A: Not all of them, but many such as sniper guns, anti-tank weapons, and certain others.

Here can be found the latest info on the ongoing Operation Defensive Shield campaign currently being conducted by the IDF since last week. Maj. Gen. Giora Eiland provided an overall perspective on the background and the goals of the campaign, which is open-ended. Pleae pay special attention re President Bush's views on the situation.

The IDF should publicly call upon Michael Sabbah to come to Bethlehem and publicly call upon all nuns and priests and monks to come out immediately. After all, he is their superior. He should announce to them that if they do not come out immediately, they will be considered hostages and the militants inside to be kidnappers and treated as such.

Michael Sabbah needs to be put on the hot seat and choose this day what side he is on as well as those under him -- and he needs to make it clear. The days of his pretentious neutrality concealing his collaboration with the lawless murderers of the innocent are coming to an end.

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