The Israeli military is working unceasingly to guarantee the eternal security of the Jewish State, said IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Aviv Kochavi.
By Jonathan Hessen and Erin Viner
During a special ceremony honoring multiple municipalities that have successfully advanced educational programs to stimulate high numbers of recruitment to the Israel Defense Forces, Gen. Kochavi highlighted the extensive complexities with which the army must contend.
“There is no other military worldwide” that conducts operational, defensive and offensive activities in six separate sectors, he said, all of which are “active.”
In addition to IDF protection on the nation’s borders with “Lebanon, Syria, Judea and Samaria, Gaza and Sinai,” Gen. Kochavi stressed that the army must also counter Iran, which he said operates on all spheres ranging from stabbing attacks to nuclear threats.
Two such offensive operations took place in the West Bank Refugee camps of Balata and Qalandia, north of Jerusalem, this past Tuesday.
Special Operations troops of the undercover Border Police Yamas Unit entered the densely populated Palestinian camps in an arrest raid for two Palestinian suspects, at the behest of the Israeli Security Agency (ISA, or Shin Bet).
The suspected terrorist was captured during the mission, which included active operational participation by a K-9 Sheppard from the ranks of the IDF Oketz Unit. An M4 assault rifle was discovered in subsequent search of the premises.
Two armed Palestinian gunmen shot at Israeli troops securing nearby alleyways during the raid. One of the terrorists was neutralized following a brief exchange of gunfire while the other was arrested and taken in for interrogation.
“We were at the entrance of the refugee camp at 7 in the morning when Israeli special forces raided the area claiming that they want to arrest wanted youths; as usual clashes took place, the youths in the refugee camp resist the raid of the occupation forces,” local Palestinian resident Zakariya Fayala of , Qalandia told Reuters, adding that, “It was tough clashes between the youths and the forces fired live bullets and tear gas there were many injuries in the legs, around six injured from live bullets and the martyr Alaa Mohammad Shaham was killed.”
Hundreds of Palestinians including dozens of armed militants participated in a mass funeral procession for the gunman, who was reportedly a member of the Iranian-proxy Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terror group based in Gaza.
While these kinds of operations by Israel’s security establishment are conducted daily, with the key objective of prevent aspirations by terror organizations and malign state actors from executing acts of terror against Israeli civilians; the greatest threat to the security of the Jewish State remains the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Among other activities, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has ratcheted up development of advanced armed Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAVs), as part of an effort to challenge Israel’s qualitative military edge (QME).
“We are entering an era of new needs with additional new markets that are opening up,” Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz asserted during a tour of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).
The IAI “constitutes an Israeli projection of technological and creative power,” said the top defense official, underscoring that, “The tools that are being developed here enable us to guarantee our qualitative security edge in the region” necessary to keep the nation peaceful and secure.