I have to disagree. On some of the threads dealing with today's fighting at Arafat's HQ, there are pictures showing a Palestinian gunman being killed. He's firing at the Israelis standing up in the middle of the street. No cover, no concealment. Cover and concealment are two of the most basic concepts that Western soldiers learn in basic training. Why? Because bullets kill those in the open without protection. The West learned this lesson the hard way during the century from Napoleon to the Somme. But the Palestinians still haven't learned such basic concepts of modern warfare. They lack firing discipline preferring to blindly fire full clips in the air (at celebrations or funerals) or in the vague general direction of the Israelis.
Regarding modern weaponry, yes, the Israelis have the edge. But much of that weaponry has yet to be used in full force on the Palestinians (empty buildings don't count). Nor have we seen signs of the Palestinians doing the little things to better equip their fighters. Helmets and body armor are cheap items that greatly enhance an infantryman's survival chances (or a cops's for that matter). But do we ever see the Palestinians using such easily made or bought equipment? Do we see proper defensive fortifications? Outside of a few ambushes, we see very little evidence of the Palestinians being able to wage a real war.
"Helmets and body armor are cheap items that greatly enhance an infantryman's survival chances (or a cops's for that matter). But do we ever see the Palestinians using such easily made or bought equipment? Do we see proper defensive fortifications? Outside of a few ambushes, we see very little evidence of the Palestinians being able to wage a real war."Yeah, but if they did these things, it would be too easy to recognize a "fighter" from an "innocent civilian". As it stands now, all the Palis have to do is remove the weapon from the scene and, voila, "instant innocent civilian killed by the fascist Jews".