Media on IDF ploy: announced ground operation in Gaza and attacked tunnels where militants

 

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“Duvdevan”, “Samson”, “Shaldag”, “Matkal”, “Shayetet 13”, “YAMAM”, “YAMAS” and others.

Soldiers of Spetsnaaz of Israel

On 12 October 2000, the Palestinian police in Ramallah detained for inspection a car with Israeli license plates, in which there were two men in Arab clothes. During the search, however, it turned out that they were Jews. They were immediately taken to the police station. News of this quickly spread throughout the city. In addition, many of its inhabitants were returning from the funeral of their fellow countrymen who had died in clashes with Israeli soldiers. Overwhelmed with a thirst for revenge, a crowd of Palestinians rushed into the station, crushing the resistance of the police, and literally beating both detainees, threw their bodies out of the window.

On the same day, upon learning of what had happened, Israeli officials announced that in fact they were "accidentally lost soldiers on vacation." In response to this killing of "innocent ordinary soldiers", Israeli armored units surrounded Palestinian settlements, and army helicopters launched missile and bomb attacks on Palestinian positions, including the residence of Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak announced: "Now the Israeli army has a free hand." The barely outlined truce was broken again.

Israel has been the target of Islamist extremist activities for over 50 years. Terrorist acts against its citizens are carried out mainly by activists of the Palestinian movement Hamas and the fundamentalist organization Islamic Jihad. They were responsible for the four explosions that took place in the country between February 25 and March 4, 1996, which resulted in the death of 59 people and the injury of 100 people, who suspended the Israeli-Syrian peace talks.

For Israel, as for many Western countries, the modern stage of the fight against terrorism began in September 1972, when a group of Arab extremists from the Black September organization captured several Israeli athletes in the Olympic village in Munich (Germany) and put forward a number of political demands to the Israeli the government. Although earlier terrorist acts have occurred in various countries, it was after Munich that the West faced a sharp surge in terrorism. The operation to free the hostages, carried out by the West German police, as you know, ended in failure: several hostages were killed, some of the terrorists fled, and the police suffered losses. These events, in particular, prompted many countries to create specialized anti-terrorist units. Then the government of Israel, led by G. Meir, made a fundamentally important decision, which is followed by all subsequent leaders of the state: terrorists must not make concessions, they must be destroyed anywhere, in any way. This was demonstrated later in practice.

On April 10, 1973, fighters of the special forces unit of the Israeli General Staff Sayeret Matkal and a similar unit of the naval forces, in cooperation with intelligence agents of the Mossad, conducted Operation Second Youth, as a result of which the headquarters of the organization was destroyed in the center of Beirut. Black September ”and a plant for the manufacture of explosive devices. Later, all participants in the terrorist attack in Munich were killed in various countries over the course of several years. An interesting fact is that then the unit was commanded by the current Prime Minister of Israel, Ehud Barak. He repeatedly took part in and led various special operations, including the release of hostages. His predecessor, B. Natanyahu, is serving in the same unit.

It is characteristic of Israel that terrorists are persecuted everywhere, wherever they are. This makes them feel insecure, even if they are in Israeli-occupied territories (Gaza Strip, West Bank. Golan Heights), in areas of compact Palestinian residence, in refugee camps in Lebanon or many hundreds of kilometers from Israel. At the same time, if necessary and the conditions allow, they can send a rather large detachment of special forces to destroy or capture the leader of any terrorist organization. For example, in April 1988, about 60 people from Israeli special forces killed the head of the military department of the PLO, Abu Jihad, who was hiding in a well-guarded villa in the capital of Tunisia. If there is an opportunity to use aviation, then they use it. In August 1998 g.

Emblem of Israel's Special Operations Rifle Division - Mossad

Husama el-Amin. This, incidentally, is not the first time such a tactic of action. Six years earlier, the leader of the pro-Iranian Shiite extremist organization Hezbollah, Abas Mussavi, was killed by the launch of a guided missile from an Apache helicopter. The accuracy of missile guidance in both cases was ensured by the Israeli Air Force special forces Sayeret Shaddag using laser designators. The latest technical means are also used. On 16 August 1999, two powerful explosive charges placed on the side of a road near the port of Sidon in southern Lebanon killed the head of Hezbollah's military operations, Ali Diyb (Abu Hassan). Although Israeli officials deny their involvement in this operation, witnesses say that at that moment an Israeli unmanned aerial vehicle was circling over the site of the explosion.

There is no need to talk in detail about all the methods of action of the Israeli special forces. All over the world, they are about the same. However, I would like to dwell on the actions of one of these units participating in the fight against terrorists.

The Sayeret Duvdevan Special Forces Unit (“Unit 217”) was established in 1988. A year later, a similar division, Sayeret Shimshon, appeared. Both units were subordinate to the General Staff and were intended to organize the search, arrest or destruction of terrorists and the release of hostages in areas of compact settlement of Palestinians. The area of ​​responsibility of the first subdivision is the district of Rzmalla, the second subdivision operated in the Gaza Strip. In 1994, after the Gaza Strip came under Palestinian control as a result of an agreement between Israel and the PLO, the Sayeret Shimshon unit was disbanded. Another name for these divisions is "Mistaravim", which means "to become an Arab" in Hebrew. This name is the essence of these units. Taking into account the specifics of the area of ​​operations, the servicemen of the Mistaravim unit are constantly operating, disguising themselves as local residents - Arabs. And literally everything is masked: weapons, vehicles, communications and surveillance. Although the areas of their operations were controlled by the Israelis, these units were there in a semi-legal position.

The emblem of the special forces of the Israel Defense Forces "Duvdevan".

The history of the Mistaravim units dates back to the forties, when Palestine was under British protectorate. Jews were constantly attacked by their Arab neighbors, but they were forbidden to organize self-defense units. And they created several clandestine paramilitaries, which simultaneously fought against the Arabs who attacked them, and also fought against the British occupation. The largest formation was the Hogan, which consisted of several Pal-mah companies. The latter included several Mistaravim groups. These groups operated on the territory of Arab settlements, disguising themselves as Arabs. The latter, unlike the Jews, were allowed to wear

weapons. Acting in this way, they inflicted sensitive blows on the British forces. In 1948, after the formation of the State of Israel and the creation of a legal armed forces, the need for such groups fell away and they were disbanded.

The Israeli military command decided to revive such units again after the 1987 Arab uprising in the occupied territories, dubbed the "intifada". The demonstrations of the Arab population were massive. Numerous, well-armed terrorists enjoyed the support of the local population. Attempts by the Israeli command to use ordinary special forces did not bring success, since they had to openly operate in densely populated areas with a strongly opposed population. As a rule, an Israeli unit moving into the task area was detected in the early stages of the operation (even if it happened at night), since the soldiers acted in their usual form and used weapons other than those of the terrorists. By that time, when the Israeli special forces arrived at the scene, the suspect, warned by his own, managed to escape. It was then that the Israelites remembered the experience of the forties.

The Sayeret Duvdevan unit, like other special forces of the Defense Forces (as the Israeli armed forces are officially called), is staffed with conscripts, moreover, of Jewish nationality. Service life is three years. Before being allowed to participate in combat operations, they undergo a long, 15-month training, which includes:

- 4 months of combined-arms training at the Mitkam Adam military base;

- 2.5 months of intensive training under the infantryman's program, with an emphasis on military topography, tactics of operations as part of a helicopter assault and operations as part of a company;

- 2 months of basic training under the special forces unit program with an emphasis on military topography and the basics of counter-terrorism operations. When studying methods of orientation on the terrain, special attention is paid to the ability to navigate using aerial photographs of the terrain, since in densely built-up areas, conventional topographic maps are often useless;

- 3 weeks of basic counter-terrorism training in a special training center;

- 1 month of enhanced counterterrorism training under the guidance of the instructors of your future unit:

the emblem of the special forces of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces - Sayeret Matkal

Israel Defense Forces special unit emblem - Shaldag

emblem of the special forces unit of the Israeli naval forces - 13th flotilla or Shayetet 13

- 4 months of studying the tactics and specifics of the actions of his unit, including, among other disciplines, the study of the Arabic language, the history and cultural customs of the Arabs, the psychology of their behavior. Methods of disguise "as Arabs" are being carefully studied: wearing Arabic clothes, using wigs, false beards and mustaches, contact lenses to change the color of the eyes, make-up, etc. Dressing up in women's clothing is often used as one of the means of disguise. This is due, firstly, to the fact that in the Arab world women have a very low social status, they are not afraid, and they can move freely everywhere without attracting attention, especially if they wear traditional Arab religious clothes of a married woman. Secondly, it is convenient to hide weapons, especially powerful long-barreled ones, as well as communications equipment, under wide Arab women's clothing. observation, etc. Since Duvedevan fighters often work in pairs, they learn to portray a married couple.

The current prime minister of Israel also had a good command of the art of disguising as a woman. In the aforementioned Operation Second Youth, he and two other special forces officers disguised as women managed to approach the sentries guarding the terrorists' headquarters and destroy several of them using silenced pistols. Sometimes, however, overlays happen with such a disguise. For example, during one of the operations at the most crucial moment, when the disguised fighters were among the Palestinians, one of them had a fake mustache peeled off. Then everything happened as in the movie "The Diamond Arm". With the words "your mustache is unstuck," a boy jumped up to the soldier, and he barely managed to get away from the crowd of Palestinians pursuing him. By the way, even the traditional Arab men's and women's clothing was "modernized" by the commandos

Since service in a unit assumes a constant presence among a hostile population and all kinds of clashes are inevitable, a lot of time during preparation and service is devoted to practicing hand-to-hand combat techniques. Moreover, training fights are held, as a rule, in full contact with the minimum restrictions necessary for safety and protective equipment. Israeli experts believe that mastery of hand-to-hand combat techniques helps to avoid unnecessary use of weapons when operating in a crowd, among civilians. It should be noted that in the Israel Defense Forces, training in hand-to-hand combat is significantly different from most armies in the world. Hand-to-hand combat techniques are studied only in airborne and special units. According to Israeli military experts,

The last month of training is devoted to a detailed study of the military specialty in which you will have to serve in Duvedevan for the entire remaining service life: sniper, driver, demolition, etc.

Fire training is carried out in the course of the entire course of training for a soldier of the Duvedevan unit. But at different stages of preparation, different tasks are solved. If at first it is the ability to handle weapons, the implementation of exercises usual for an infantryman, then starting with the course of basic training of special forces units, they begin to work out special exercises. For example, exercises in pairs using various masking household items. For example, this could be a grocery cart. One of the unit's fighters is hiding in a cart under a cover (in reality, it can be fruit, etc.). He usually has more powerful weapons (automatic rifle, submachine gun). At the command of his partner, he throws off the lid and opens fire, and he supports him with fire from a pistol.

Newcomers who arrived at Duvedevan after completing their training are enrolled in one of the groups formed according to the principle of a single military specialty: a group of drivers, snipers, etc. When carrying out an operation, the command staffs an operational group, to which the most trained and most combat-ready specialists are assigned at the moment. Usually it can include up to eight people, the operations are carefully worked out, the most recent aerial photographs of the area, taken several hours before the operation, are carefully studied. If necessary, training is carried out on the ground. One of the journalists who managed to secretly observe such a teaching described what he saw. “In an area hidden from prying eyes, a fake Palestinian village has been built, with plywood facades and live donkeys in paddocks. From the same plywood mosque, the muezzin's prayer was heard through loudspeakers. Behind the facade, the soldiers changed their olive uniforms for jeans, T-shirts, sweaters. Then they glued on false beards and made up like Arabs. Another group depicted "Palestinians" throwing stones at a military jeep and setting a car protector on fire in the street. Suddenly, two of the “protesters” against the “Israeli arbitrariness” seized the leader of the “Palestinians” group, immediately strangling him and threw him into an approaching “Meregsk”, which drove away at high speed, and the trunks protruded from the windows of the car that had driven away. Another group depicted "Palestinians" throwing stones at a military jeep and setting a car protector on fire in the street. Suddenly, two of the "protesters" against the "Israeli arbitrariness" seized the leader of the "Palestinians" group, immediately strangling him and threw him into an approaching "Meregzk", which drove away at high speed, and the trunks protruded from the windows of the car that had driven away. Another group depicted "Palestinians" throwing stones at a military jeep and setting a car protector on fire in the street. Suddenly, two of the "protesters" against the "Israeli arbitrariness" seized the leader of the "Palestinians" group, immediately strangling him and threw him into an approaching "Meregzk", which drove away at high speed, and the trunks protruded from the windows of the car that had driven away.

As mentioned earlier, the unit is serving soldiers - sockniki. They don't have enough time to learn difficult Arabic well. Basically, language learning comes down to mastering the most used words and phrases that allow you not to open up right away and carry out a fleeting operation.

Speaking about the unit's weapons and equipment, it should be noted that all weapons (both foreign and Israeli) are selected in such a way that they have sufficient firepower, have a small size and could be used with silencers. For example, a shortened version of the American M-16A2 automatic rifle is in service. Its barrel is almost 4 cm shorter than that of a standard rifle. This is necessary to camouflage weapons when carrying, say, under clothing or transporting them in specially equipped caches in cars.

Silencers are needed to ensure stealth. Especially often, such weapons are used to destroy dogs that are overflowing with cities in the occupied territories. Dogs are a good "safety signaling device" when they raise their barks long before the task force approaches the site of the operation, especially at night. After several unsuccessful operations, which were thwarted by dogs, there is always at least one person in the task force with a weapon with a silencer. His task is to destroy dogs that can warn the enemy ahead of time about an attack. By the way, the presence of one or two dead dogs with a bullet in the head at the site of Operation Duvedevan has become a kind of calling card of this unit.

The machines that are used in the Duvedevan division are outwardly no different from those used by the locals. Basically the same old models as theirs. They have local numbers and "official" documents so as not to arouse suspicion even among the Israeli soldiers checking them. But the internal stuffing of the cars does not match their appearance: powerful forced engines with turbocharging. bulletproof glass, reinforced front and rear bumpers (so that if necessary, go to the ram). In addition, in order to secretly transport weapons, special caches are equipped in the cars.

The performance of both Mistaravim units was impressive. If in 1990 there were several hundred active members of Arab terrorist organizations hiding in places of compact residence of Palestinians (“wanted” in Israeli terminology) were registered with the Israeli special services, then in 1995 there were only a few dozen of them. Most of them were killed during the arrests, as fanatical terrorists put up stubborn resistance, preferring death to Israeli captivity. This, incidentally, was the reason to call the Mistaravim units the assassin squads, after in 1992 the General Staff of the IDF for the first time publicly announced the existence and activities of these units. In the most tense period of the Arab "intifada" (1989-1995), not a day passed when one or both units did not carry out operations to neutralize terrorists. In addition to the physical reduction in the number of "wanted" ones, the result of the activities of these units was a psychological impact on existing and potential terrorists who do not feel safe even among the loyal local population.

Such an intense rhythm of service in these units, as well as the need to constantly impersonate another person, often led to the fact that at the end of the service those who retired to the reserve experienced mental trauma and nervous breakdowns. Many of them could no longer find a place for themselves in a calm post-war life and, in order to somehow realize themselves, came to serve in special police units or private security structures. The servicemen of these units were also affected by heavy, exhausting training, especially in hand-to-hand combat. Several people have been disabled as a result of training injuries, and broken ribs, shattered noses and concussions have become commonplace. In addition, there have been cases

The impressive results of the activities of the Duvedevan and Shimshon units led to the fact that they began to conduct their operations independently, without informing not only local law enforcement agencies, but also related special forces of the armed forces. As a result, there have been several cases in which fighters from these units entered into firefights with other military personnel who mistook them for Arab terrorists. And once the task force "Duvedevan" entered into battle with the soldiers of another special unit of the Defense Forces, when both units independently of each other simultaneously carried out an operation on the same object. This and other clashes resulted in casualties on both sides. It happened that the inconsistency in the unit itself also led to sad results. So, for example, on August 27, 2000.

Even at the beginning of the activities of the Mistaravim units, their command came to the conclusion that the most effective actions are carried out not at night, but during the day, when the “wanted” ones relax and allow themselves to appear in public places. It was a good idea to use the uniform of the Palestinian police, which began to operate widely in the occupied territories in 1992-1993, to disguise. This was facilitated by the fact that the Palestinian police were arming themselves mainly with Western weapons instead of the Kalashnikov assault rifles traditionally widespread in these areas. Witnesses of such operations could take everything at face value, they say the police are missing another "accomplice" of the Israelis.

In addition to its main mission, the Duvedevan unit is also involved in the tasks of freeing hostages and conducting counter-terrorist operations. In accordance with the organization adopted in Israel for the fight against terrorism and the taking of hostages, all units involved in such tasks are divided into assault, support and auxiliary. Assault are those that directly release hostages or capture (destroy) terrorists. These include anti-terrorist groups specially created as part of the special forces of the Defense Forces "Sayeret Matkal" and "Flotilla 13" ("Subdivision 269" and "D 4", respectively), as well as the Israeli police special force "Yaamam". All these units have their own area of ​​responsibility, within which they conduct their operations. For example, "Yaamam" operates on the territory of Israel, and the anti-terrorist group of the "Saysret Metkal" unit - abroad. Support units are units for which the fight against terrorism is not the main task, although their personnel also receive the necessary training. Basically, these are various units of the Special Forces of the Defense Forces. Their task: upon arrival at the site of the operation, cordon off (as far as possible) the surrounding area, prevent outsiders from entering the cordoned off area, including reinforcements for terrorists, or the exit of terrorists from the blocked area, as well as collect as much information as possible before arrival an assault unit assigned to carry out the operation. The support unit can start releasing hostages and storming terrorists on their own, without waiting for the arrival of the main forces, only if the terrorists began to kill the hostages. Each of these units also operates within its own area of ​​responsibility, which geographically coincide with the military districts. When conducting an anti-terrorist operation outside Israel, the one that best suits the task at hand (in terms of its capabilities), regardless of its area of ​​responsibility, is chosen as a "support" unit. The Duvedevan subdivision, which is one of the "support", was repeatedly involved in such tasks, sometimes successfully, sometimes not. When conducting an anti-terrorist operation outside Israel, the one that best (in terms of its capabilities) corresponds to the task at hand, regardless of its area of ​​responsibility, is chosen as a "support" unit. The Duvedevan subdivision, which is one of the "support", was repeatedly involved in such tasks, sometimes successfully, sometimes not. When conducting an anti-terrorist operation outside Israel, the one that best (in terms of its capabilities) corresponds to the task at hand, regardless of its area of ​​responsibility, is chosen as a "support" unit. The Duvedevan subdivision, which is one of the "support", was repeatedly involved in such tasks, sometimes successfully, sometimes not.

For example, in 1996, a sergeant from the Harbor Motorized Infantry Brigade, Nachshon Vauxman, was taken hostage. He had a vacation, and on the way from the unit to the city, he asked for a lift in a car in which sat several Palestinians disguised as Jews who turned out to be members of one of the Arab terrorist organizations. Apparently, the Palestinians are also studying and in practice applying the experience of the Israelis' struggle against them. N. Voxman was taken to Ramallah and hidden in one of the buildings. The operation to free him was carried out by an anti-terrorist group from the Sayeret Matkal unit. Everything went well at first. Fighters from the Duvedevan unit secretly surrounded the area adjacent to the building with the hostage and three terrorists in it, and allowed the special forces from the assault group, along with the dog handler and the dog, to approach the front door of the building unnoticed.

According to the plan, after the explosion, the dog was to be launched into the building, and then the members of the assault group were to break in. But the successful part of the operation ended there. The installed charge was insufficient to immediately knock the door down. While they were preparing another, the terrorists had time to prepare for the "warm" reception of the assault group. In addition, after the explosion of the first charge, one of the terrorists killed the hostage with three shots to the head. Immediately after the explosion of the second charge, the group, simultaneously with the dog, burst into the room and came under a hurricane of terrorist fire. As a result, the commander of the group, Captain Nir Poraz, was killed, and another member of the group was seriously wounded, but managed to kill one of the terrorists. As a result, all three terrorists were killed, but the hostage was also killed. Analyzing the results of the operation, the Israeli command came to the conclusion that that the main reason for its failure was the incorrect calculation of the charge for knocking out the door. This deprived the assault group of the surprise factor and gave the terrorists time to prepare for the assault. And one of the reasons for the losses among the assault group was that they burst into the room at the same time as the dog, and not a few seconds later, without using it as a distraction.

On March 3, 2000, a special police unit "YAMAM" (a special unit of the Israeli border police MAGAV) carried out an operation to capture a group of terrorists in the city of Taiba, inhabited by Palestinians. There, according to the Shabak internal security service, there were several terrorists who were preparing to carry out terrorist attacks. Special forces from "Duvedevan" acted as a support unit, since the city was in their area of ​​responsibility. At five o'clock in the morning, the special forces surrounded the house in which the terrorists were located, and specialists from YAMAM intervened. Since there were no hostages in the house, they tried to persuade the terrorists to surrender by speaking to them through a loudspeaker. One of them did just that. Two others also left the house with a small suitcase and went to the YAMAM employees, but suddenly drew their pistols, opened fire and threw a suitcase in the direction of the commandos, which, as it turned out, contained an explosive device. Both terrorists were killed, but one of the YAMAM employees was wounded in the leg by shrapnel. The house was monitored for several hours, but no movement was detected in it. A dog sent to the house was blown up by a mine. Then it was decided to demolish the house with a bulldozer. Israelis often resort to such tactics when they are sure that there is no one in the house except terrorists. As the bulldozer approached, one of the surviving terrorists opened fire on its driver, but he was killed by a shot from a YAMAM sniper. When by 17 o'clock the house was destroyed by a bulldozer and the soldiers of both special forces began to inspect the ruins, then under the ruins they found the bodies of two terrorists: one was killed by a sniper's shot, and the other was killed under the ruins of a house. The result of the operation: four killed terrorists, one captured alive. Losses of special forces: one dog and one slightly wounded YAMAM employee. Since the operation took place not in the occupied territories and not in the border areas, but in the center of Israel, about 35 km from Tel Aviv, the media representatives were able to observe it from beginning to end, having seen not only the successful actions of the special forces and tactics their effects, but also the equipment used, including new unloading and body armor, “night vision monoculars and laser designators, which are attached to the head of the commandos.

The successful experience of using the Mistaravim units of the Defense Forces was also adopted by the Israeli Border Guard, which also created a similar unit, YAMAS. The area of ​​operations was the zone along the borders with Arab countries. A feature of this unit is that most of the military personnel are recruited from among national minorities (mainly Druze), citizens of Israel. For them, Arabic is their native language, and the border areas are well known to them.

A similar unit - "Gideonim" was created in the Israeli police.

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