WarSclerotic

‘FYI, @AlqassamBrigade,… JPost – Features – Insights & Features.

The IDF’s bolstered social media presence comes into the spotlight for the first time in Operation Pillar of Defense.

Photo: IDF Spokesman’s Office Those casually browsing Twitter in the afternoon of November 14 may have become privy to news of the IDF’s largest operation in Gaza since 2009 before anyone else. At 4:17 p.m., IDF Spokesperson Avital Leibovich, tweeted:

Shortly thereafter, the IDF’s English Twitter account posted “The first target, hit minutes ago, was Ahmed Al-Jabari, head of the #Hamas military wing.” The emailed press release with the same information did not arrive in The Jerusalem Post’s inbox until 8 minutes later.

It wasn’t that the army purposely broke the news on Twitter; an IDF Spokesman explained that they hit the send key on the announcement over its various media platforms at the same time. Rather, large email distribution systems take time to deliver, effectively making instantaneous Twitter the platform that broke the story.

Within minutes of the original Tweet, the IDF was updating its blog, Facebook, Twitter and other social media accounts with explanations of the operational goals, charts, maps, videos, talking points and updates. For the first time, a major IDF operation was being live-Tweeted.

“The truth is, the IDF has always been really active on social media,” said Marina Boykis, a digital manager at the social media agency Blink who served on the IDF’s new media desk from 2010-2012. “This is just the first serious clash that they’re Tweeting.”

During the IDF’s last major Gaza operation, 2008-2009’s Cast Lead, its social media presence was practically non-existent. As accusations and condemnations of the attacks rolled in from around the world, the spokesman’s unit realized it could effectively make its case by releasing videos of its operations, demonstrating the difficulty of hitting military targets embedded in civilian areas. When clips uploaded to its newly created YouTube channel [youtube.com/idfnadesk] gained traction, it realized the potential of new media, and began expanding at an exponential pace, growing nearly tenfold in just a few years.

“I think that the IDF realizes that all the social media platforms are important for conveying information to the general public, and that’s always been a problem for them,” said Boykis.

In the midst of the 2010 Mavi Marmara Flotilla crisis, the IDF launched its English Twitter account, which today boasts some 97,500 followers, as a new avenue for making its case. Today, its media arsenal also includes a website, blog, Facebook page [facebook.com/idfonline] and Flickr [flickr.com/photos/idfonline], plus parallel accounts in Hebrew, English, French, Russian and Arabic.

The latest bout of Tweeting has proved a boon to the IDF and its supporters, who post and re-post its latest facts and figures to their own accounts, re-Tweeting messages justifying the military actions, maps showing areas susceptible to rocket attacks and satellite images demonstrating the proximity of weapons caches in Gaza to civilian centers. It also chest-thumped with warnings to Hamas operatives, and a posters declaring Jabari “eliminated.”

In cyberspace, however, everyone has a platform. Hamas, too, has a Twitter account in English with some 9,200 followers, where it reports on the other side of the conflict. In addition to publishing its own videos of, for example, successful rocket launches, it also updates Gazan death tolls and boasted of its military accomplishments, carefully explaining that its rockets were aimed at various “military bases,” and repeatedly bluffing that that’s where their rockets land.

While the idea that the wealth of information might lead to dialogue or a better understanding of the other side’s positions is tempting, that seldom seems to be the case. “I don’t think that Twitter is the platform for people to engage in a true dialogue, like if they were sitting face-to-face,” said Boykis. “True dialogue needs to happen between Israel and legitimate representative of the Palestinian Authority, and not terrorists sitting in their bunkers in Gaza.”

Indeed, the open nature of social media sites like Twitter has led to some unusual interactions. Hamas actually responded to an IDF Tweet recommending “that no Hamas operatives, whether low level or senior leaders, show their faces above ground in the days ahead,” with their own warning: “@IDFSpokesperson Our blessed hands will reach your leaders and soldiers wherever they are (You Opened Hell Gates on Yourselves).”

Beyond direct confrontation and updates from official sources, Twitter’s “trending list” also serves to update people on the latest events. Within minutes of Thursday’s siren in Tel Aviv, the city’s name was trending, as thousands of people Tweeted at once on the alarming escalation.

In the United States, a mock conservative group called The People’s Cube started a joke hashtag, #HamasBumperStickers, which made its way to the top of the trending list alongside derisive comments aimed at the terrorist group. “Shiite happens,” read one. “Kids blow up so fast these days!” read another. “Honk If You’re About to be Taken Out by an Israeli Air to Surface Missile,” read a third.

Not everyone found it funny. One Tweeter wrote: “So disgusted that something like #HamasBumperStickers is trending, and not #PrayForGaza. Public diplomacy, it seems, still has a long way to go.

Analysis: Hamas trying to restore shattere… JPost – Middle East.

Photo: REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

Jerusalem Post – Breaking News.

Rockets on Southern Cities, Home Hit – Defense/Security – News – Israel National News.

Rocket attack (archive)

Flash 90

Gaza terrorists resumed frequent attacks on southern Israel on Friday morning after a relatively quiet night as the IDF took out more than 150 targets in the area.

Rockets were fired at the cities of Ashdod, Ofakim and Ashkelon, as well as smaller communities in the Eshkol and Shaar Hanegev regions.

In Ashdod a rocket hit next to a residential building, causing damage and sending several residents into shock. Thankfully there were no physical injuries.

In the Shaar Hanegev region a rocket hit a home, setting it on fire. The owners were elsewhere at the time.

Two rockets hit the Ofakim area but caused neither damage nor injury. An additional eight rockets that hit the Eshkol region likewise did not cause damage or injury.

The Iron Dome defense system has shot down more than 130 rockets since Operation Pillar of Defense began three days ago.

Rockets Reach Tel Aviv.

IsraelDefense

15/11/2012

Tel Aviv is also no longer safe; after Hamas threatened to launch rockets towards Israel’s central region, two rockets were fired at the Tel Aviv metropolitan. There were no reports of damage or casualties, and the rockets fell in open areas at a distance from the city. Two rockets were fired earlier towards the city of Rishon LeZion, where they also landed in open areas near the city.

As the rocket fire and air strikes in Gaza continue, the IDF is preparing for the possibility of a ground operation, and has begun mobilizing several thousand reserve soldiers.

Earlier today, three soldiers were wounded in the afternoon from a mortar shell that fell in the Eshkol region, one moderately wounded with the other two sustaining light injuries. The soldiers were evacuated to the Soroka Medical Center. Earlier today, three people were killed from the direct hit by a Grad missile of a building in the town of Kiryat Malachi.

Throughout the day, rocket salvos continue to be fired towards Israel’s southern region. One of the rockets hit the yard of a house in the Sha’ar Hanegev Council, a rocket dropped in an open field in Ashkelon, four were intercepted above Sderot and another intercepted in the area of Kiryat Gat.

Israel’s Minister of Defense, Ehud Barak, visited the IDF’s Southern Command earlier and said that “We are determined to restore deterrence back to its initial state, to restore the calm, and we will do whatever is needed to do this, and to reach this result. The layout of Fajr missiles, which can reach as far as the country’s center, has been almost completely paralyzed – in our estimates, their launch capabilities have been severely damaged, and this is just the beginning.”

A house in Ashdod was also hit earlier today, without any casualties. The military wing of Hamas took responsibility for the fire. A school suffered a direct hit in Ofakim, with damage caused to classrooms. Additional salvos were launched during the night and in the morning towards Be’er Sheva, Ashkelon, and Gan Yavne. Some of the rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome system.

The IDF is continuing its attack on targets within the Gaza Strip, including with the use of Merkava Mark 4 tanks and Israeli Navy missile boats. Three terrorists preparing to launch rockets were killed in one of the attacks in Khan Yunis. Israel is preparing for the funeral of al-Jabri, which will take place at 11:30 and is expected to trigger additional rocket salvos.

According to a situation assessment held this morning by IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz, the launches will continue and will intensify. The IDF is continuing its efforts to hurt the layout of Fajr missiles which Hamas possesses.

“Pillar of Defense” – What Afterwards?.

Nitzan Nuriel

15/11/2012

I am well acquainted with the Gaza Strip from the roles I’ve held in the past, as commander of the Golani Brigade’s Barak battalion and as Brigade deputy commander, as well as from thousands of hours discussing various issues which were, and remain, relevant for this impossible sector.

Yesterday afternoon saw the launch of an operational plan prepared by the best of our men, one which will see the participation of our best sons and daughters. They will do their best to bring the relative calm back to the country’s southern region, while attempting to intensify the deterrence aspect, which may even go as far as the eyes of “those sitting in Beirut” and the ears of those in Persia.

Yet it is still important to ask the question of the following day – what will come afterwards?

The following paragraphs do not lean upon a political doctrine nor do they stem from the world of science fiction, rather their source lies in the need “to turn over every stone”, to be creative and to dare.

In order to accomplish the objectives of the operation, there is need to connect between four efforts, each of which are useless all alone, and the challenge in connecting them is tremendous and requires considerable boldness.

The first component is to provide a severe blow to Hamas and its partners so as to overpower them, an objective which is a necessary yet insufficient condition.

The second component is to get the head of the Palestinian Authority to return to the Gaza Strip region (after toppling the Hamas regime), through Egypt, with three to four battalions from its security forces. These battalions were trained in Jordan by the US and are presently deployed in the West Bank, and this will allow him to return and control the Gaza Strip, which was taken by a bloody military revolution in 2006.

The third component is a quick plan, with international funding and cooperation (including on the part of the Arab world) to restore the Gaza Strip, so that Gaza will be restored as a place worthy of dignified living. This should be done in a relatively short period of time and led by Egypt, while orderly establishing a democratic society.

The final component is the recognition that the PA has returned to ruling over both parts of the Palestinian populace (the main reason that prevented progress with the PA in the framework of serious negotiations), and from this the ability to conclude what is required to fulfill the operation’s political purpose.

I am aware of the fact that in order to reach a worthy agreement with the Palestinians, further components which are no detailed here (such as the issues of the right of return or Jerusalem) are needed, and there is substantial difficulty in bridging them. However, without an honest, worthy attempt, then the purpose of the operation is temporary, partial and mostly does not plant the essential seeds of hope needed by both the Israeli and Palestinian sides.

During operation Cast Lead, I presented this direction to the decision makers; At the time, perhaps like today, this direction appears complex, tangled and one which entails risks. However, alongside the operation of force it has the ability for the component of operating the mind, which may place the responsibility on the shoulders of Abu Mazzen, providing him with an opportunity to act on behalf of his people rather than to go, pointlessly, to the UN.

And if it doesn’t? In contrast to the popular opinion, the “deterrence” achieved in Cast Lead, which was perceived as a successful operation, lasted for very little time (ask the residents of Israel’s southern region, or read the fire figures – quantity, timing and quality since the end of the operation). Compare this to the Second Lebanon War, which was viewed as a “problematic” war but established effective deterrence vis-à-vis Hezbollah to this very day. I believe that even Pillar of Defense will not be able to generate the necessary calm for long with regards to Gaza under Hamas, so in the best case, we will succeed in postponing the next round by a little, while hoping for a relatively cheap cost, but we will certainly not remove the threat. Experience points to the fact that after each round, the quality of the enemy’s recovery runs as deep as the blow it sustained, with regards to weapons and daring.

Alongside all of this, it is wise to stay alert to streams within the Israeli Arab population, as well as to Hamas cells in the West Bank, the Golan Heights sector and even Hezbollah expressions of solidarity, which raises the threat potential in the short range. Cyber, another potential arena, and Jewry around the world, which is in the Jihadi agenda, are also among the list of potential targets in this time. The defensive and security effort must accompany the offensive effort, alongside the political one.

==
Brig. Gen. (Res.) Nitzan Nuriel is the former head of Israel’s Counter Terrorism Bureau. He served in the IDF for nearly 30 years, during which he served as the Ground Forces attaché in Washington and head of the Foreign Relations Division in the IDF’s Operations Branch among other roles.

Powers to map Iran strategy, Tehran wants to meet soon.

Thursday, 15 November 2012

Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, reaffirmed his country’s “constant readiness” for talks. (Reuters)

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Israel agrees on stopping Gaza offensive after Egypt’s PM visit.

Friday, 16 November 2012

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators carry signs and chant during a protest against Israel, outside the Israeli Consulate in San Francisco, California November 15, 2012. (Reuters)

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IDF working towards obtaining 5th Iron Dome battery – Israel News, Ynetnews.

The IDF is making efforts to obtain a fifth Iron Dome battery which is in its final stages of development and was expected to make it into the army’s hands in January.

IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz is expected to approve the recruitment of 16,000 reserve troops for the operation in Gaza.

US Jewish group rallies to help communities in southern Israel | The Times of Israel.

Jewish Federations of North America pledges $5 million for new Israel Terror Relief Fund

The four-story building that was struck Thursday, killing three Israelis, in Kiryat Malachi (photo credit: David Katz/The Israel Project)

The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) has rallied to Israel’s defense, offering immediate services and financing to help restore communities devastated by ongoing rocket attacks in the lead up to and during Operation Pillar of Defense.

The JFNA announced a new Israel Terror Relief Fund, pledging up to $5 million in support of communities living under rocket threat, particularly those in the south. Its aim is ”to stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Israel at this critical time,” the organization said in a press statement.

The fund aims to help more than 1 million residents through trauma counseling, medical treatment, financial assistance, portable bomb shelters, and shuttling children out of the range of rocket fire. The fund will also offer respite for 23,500 grade-school students who live in affected areas, as well as psychological interventions for parents and children. It will enable partners to distribute food and emergency kits to the elderly and disabled, and provide care for severely disabled or frail elderly in their homes.