There isn’t much that shocks me about the callous hypocrisy of the Israeli military and intelligence apparatus. But this is right up there: three and a half years ago Sayeret Matkal, Israel’s elite special forces unit, infiltrated a squad into Gaza. Their ultimate goal was to plant advanced listening devices permitting the IDF to intercept the internal communications Gaza militants. The cover they used during their mission was especially cynical and callous: they assumed the identity of a real NGO to bring wheelchairs to children who’d been paralyzed by Israeli attacks. This permitted them to travel around the enclave without suspicion as they delivered their equipment for the benefit of wounded children.
On the fateful night, the unit was traveling in a vehicle and it was stopped at a checkpoint by a Hamas squad. The leader of the squad became suspicious that the IDF commandos were not speaking in the Gaza Arabic dialect. They also traveled in a vehicle with women, something not done in Gaza. When he ordered the disguised Israelis out of the van an argument ensued. Another soldier, a Lt. Col, rushed out of the vehicle and mowed down 8 of the Hamas fighters. In the process, he also fatally wounded his commander, Lt. Col. Mahmoud Kheireddine along with several of the other Israeli commandos standing with him. For this fashlah, the shooter was later awarded a commendation.
The unit then fled in their vehicle. But not before retrieving the dead body of the commander, so Hamas could not use it as a bargaining chip in exchange for prisoners held in Israeli jails. They Israelis had moments to spare before Hamas raised the alarm. The commandos radioed a desperate call for help. A helicopter landed inside Gaza and picked them up and returned them safely.
This mission was an utter disaster. Mistake after mistake piled high, almost leading to the capture of some of Israel’s most elite commandos. This would have been a huge coup for Hamas. The operation was one of the worst military failures perhaps in decades. Hence the censorship of much of the story till now. You see, Israeli military censorship has nothing to do with its purported mission: to protect the security of the state. Rather, it protects the reputation of generals, suppresses bad press, and thus ensures fat budgets.
After the mission, Hamas went to extraordinary lengths to expose the innards of the operation. It found the surveillance equipment the unit intended to plant in Gaza. It retrieved CCTV tape of the individual officers and created a Wanted poster featuring their code names and pictures. It also released a video of the firefight to highlight the bravery of their men that night. The IDF assumed it was operating under a veil of secrecy and that it had infiltrated Gaza leaving no fingerprints. But its presumption was ill-considered. It left an unintended trail which exposed the abject failure of the mission.
I published the Wanted post here and in my Facebook timeline. The social media platform censored it, claiming it endangered those pictured. Oh the irony: these soldiers invaded Gaza and killed 20 Hamas fighters. Now, they needed protection because exposing their images might endanger them.
Israeli media falsely claims there are reporting Kheireddine’s identity for the first time
Contrary to Israeli media reports, they are not the first to report Kheireddine’s identity. I was. I did so shortly after the first report on the mission came out. I reported his name, rank, home village, and his Druze ancestry, all of which was prohibited by the military censor. I also reported that he’d applied for a building permit in his village and been rejected by Israeli authorities:
[Kheireddine’s] father excoriated housing minister Yoav Galant, himself a former high-ranking IDF general, for refusing to grant his dead son a building permit. He said: “”My son gave you his life, but you were too miserly to give him a building permit!”
This little bit you wouldn’t find reported then, and in all the accolades now heaped on him, you won’t hear this shameful episode mentioned either.
Instead, you only hear of the hero who sacrificed his life for his comrades and his nation. You’ll only hear about his doting mother and father, his loving wife and their two children. You’ll only hear about how he determined from a young age that though he was an “Arab” Israeli, he would serve his nation. You’ll hear about how he rose through the ranks, till he was promoted to deputy commander of the IDF’s most elite unit, Sayeret Matkal.
You won’t hear about the botched mission. You won’t hear about the catastrophic loss of the Kheireddine’s life by a bullet from his own comrades. You won’t hear any criticism about the humanitarian aid cover chosen for the operation, which aroused suspicion of all humanitarian NGOs there. This may have been part of the consideration, because Israel is constantly at war with such organizations, which engender sympathy for Palestinians in Gaza. It regularly arrests aid workers, charging them falsely with working on behalf of terror groups. It even labels the humanitarian relief organizations as terrorists themselves.
Why Now?
Perhaps the most important question is: why now? Nearly four years have passed. Until now the incident was under strict censorship. Clearly, the IDF did not want Israelis or Hamas to know the extent of this disastrous mission. What has changed?
In what context has this latest announcement unfolded? The IDF murdered a beloved Palestinian journalist. The world is demanding an independent investigation of her murder. Israel fears such an investigation because it will expose this act as a war crime.
Yesterday’s funeral for Shireen Abu Aqleh was marred by Border Police assaulting the mourners, causing them nearly to drop the casket to the ground. The world has seen the images of this thuggery, this police riot, and is disgusted. The average Israeli isn’t terribly concerned. They could care less about Palestinians, whether alive or dead. There are some who possess a conscience, who are troubled by this series of heinous acts. But they are in the minority.
Nonetheless, the IDF is desperate to counter the prevailing narrative that it kills Palestinians with cold-blooded impunity. What better way to do it than to trot out Kheireddine and highlight his heroism. He is the Israeli ‘Arab,’ loyal to his country, who gave his life for it. He is the opposite of Abu Aqleh, a Palestinian hated by the IDF for her almost daily critical reports documenting the injustices and crimes of Occupation.
Now the IDF can hold up the picture of an ‘Arab’ hero to counter the thousands of images of the Palestinian martyr, Abu Aqleh. For Israel, this is a war of dueling narratives. It is not above trotting out the dead to bolster the cause.
Social Media Censorship Protects Israeli Crimes
Just as the Israeli military censor protected the IDF from exposing its disastrous Gaza mission, so social media platforms perform the same role in suppressing content that exposes its crimes.
A Twitter user published a graphic image of the deceased Al Jazeera journalist as the Statue of Liberty. Instead of the torch held in the upraised hand of Lady Liberty, she holds an Al Jazeera microphone. And instead of the book marked “July 4 1776” which she holds in her other hand, Abu Aqleh holds a map of Palestine. It is a powerful, poignant image. Which is why the hasbara warriors went to work reporting it. As a result, Twitter determined the image did not “promote healthy conversation. It “disabled most of the ways to engage with the tweet.” Presumably, anything offensive to Brand Israel is now abusive, dangerous or unhealthy for users.
When censorship doesn’t work on social media, they go on the direct attack. After publishing yesterday’s post in which I called Israel a police state, Israelis tweeted that I was “the son of a whore,” “subhuman,” and “a pile of shit.” I guess the truth stings like a scorpion. My reply to them: I’m proud of your hate. It only makes me stronger. The pro-Israel social media warriors are desperately holding back the ugly reality of Israeli terror, apartheid and genocide. They are like the Dutch boy holding his finger in the dyke. How long can he keep back the ocean floodwaters?
they couldn’t care less
@ Grammar Communist: Sorry comrade, but both forms are acceptable. Though you may take me out to be shot by a Grammar Communist Party firing squad for my counter-revolutionary language choices.
Surely to be shot by Palestinian Gunpeople or Israeli forces, depending upon which narrative is believed (or not).
And all of a sudden the Zionist snakes ( Lieberman and Lapid for now ) are suggesting that the supremacist racist Nation State Law should be amended to include the Druze. And as we know not because of decency and equality ( inconclusivity ) but because of political expediency.
@ Willem: First the Druze are important cannon fodder for the IDF and one of the few Palestinian ethnic groups who will enlist in the army. Second, they represent what Israel calls the “Arab” element in the IDF and so are a useful hasbara tool. These are reasons to exclude Druze from the Nation State law. Though I’m not sure how they could do this. Are they going to start treatng Druze as if they’re Jewish? That would be weird for the Druze I think.
waste of saliva on a tucker/hannity booster, too bad that the likes of him can take a gun travel 200m in order to “cleanse” the u.s. according to their credo.
from afar i hope and prey you find your way out of the rabbit hole fast, sadly once 45th let the devil out of pandora’s box it’ll take a lot of souls to put it back, having lived in egypt/56 – montevideo/66 canada/70 , you are at the start of a very long process, think 20 odd years before the mending starts , prayers lots
Richard, I have another theory as to why the murdering IDF/Israel do not want the killing of Shireen to be exposed. And this is not the first time that they know who did the killing and then cover it up/lie about it.
I reckon they are afraid it might dampen the bloodlust of some of the Israeli soldiers/snipers/special forces. The shoot first policy cannot be tampered with and all the ‘great’ Zionist defenders should know no drastic consequences/convictions will follow when they murder the ‘terrorists’, be it women or children.
Hamas “broke” what the he’ll are you taking credit for. ZIONIST SHILL
@ rss: No, Hamas did not break Kheireddine’s identity. It did not know his name or rank. I did. Did you even bother to read anything in the post beyond the headline to understand what exactly I reported and why that broke a major part of the story?
Please do not compare “…The pro-Israel social media warriors…” to our Hans Brinker. He did it to save people!
Richard, how do you rationalise an Arab who as you write so extensively are so discriminated against in Israeli society, by israeli authorities etc etc, wanting to join IDF, remaining in its ranks for so many years, willing to give up his life for his country?
@ ock: First, it’s not “Arab.” Palestinians may be Arab in the sense that they speak an Arabic dialect (different than the dialect spoken by Israeli Palestinians), but not in the context of Israeli society, unless you adopt the racist nomenclature of Israeli Jews. They are Palestinian or Israeli Palestinian or Palestinian citizens of Israel. Do not use the term “Arab” here when referring to Palestinians.
Second, Druze do not consider themselves “Arab” in the sense you are using it. They have their own religion and their own traditions which, while bearing some similarities to Islam, is quite different. They do not consider themselves Muslim. On the other hand, the vast majority of Palestinians are Muslim.
Third, the Druze have always had a tight relationship with Israel. They are the favored “Arab” ethnic group. They’ve always enlisted in the IDF (though that is rapidly changing as hate against Israeli Palestinians increases). As such, this relationship marks them as quite different from their Palestinian peers.
Fourth, the Druze face the same job, health, education discrimination as other Palestinians. So joining the IDF is a good gig for them. They get a steady job, steady income, and a certain status in their community and among Jews.
How much of that did you already know? If nothing, then you’re ignorant. If you knew some of it but omitted here you’re acting in bad faith. If you knew all of it and deliberately omitted it, you’re a liar and a fraud. Which is it?
from all my life never tell a druze he’s a muslim, never , lived in egypt and woe of you if you said you’re a druze, there is no lost love between these two. so the muslim will cut to you to pieces if you mention the d word, and the druze will pray for your soul.
second for israel anyone not approved by the bought and paid for rabbis then you’re not a jew, PERIOD. even the orthodox of NY are not considered jews for the local haredim.
druze live in israel because until now they werent considered a blight, they serve because the idf will use them as NON JEWISH (see we accept arabs in the army, arabs not palestinians)
as for laws druze are in the bucket as muslims, they dont exist
to give you an e.g the minister in charge of construction refused a building permit to the druze hero’s father to be built in the name of THE DRUZE HERO. yup, you can spill your blood but dont ask for anything ever, it wont pass. EVEN SHAKED SAID SHE WONT LET THE LAW BE AMENDED TO INCLUDE THE DRUZE. so that’s how much israel cares about any non jew.. btw for the religious haredim the other 7 millions plus nor haredim are not jews either,
You write:“Hence the censorship of much of the story till now” However, most of the story was publicized by Israeli media at real time.
You also call Druze Arabs. I do not know how many Druze you know, I know quite a few and they definitly do not see themsleves as Arabs. Some may take offense if you call them like that.
@Old Nag: for what is the 10th time I’ve done this: Israeli media did not report Kheireddine’s name, rank, unit, ethnic identity nor his native village. I did.
You as usual completely misunderstand my use of the term “Arab” Israeli. The reason the word Arab is in quotes is that the vast majority of Israeli Jews consider him Arab and make no Distinction between Druze and Palestinian Muslims. They are all the same amorphous Other. That is why the Druze receive the same racist treatment all other Israeli Palestinians experience. It is why the Nation a state law makes no such distinction and ehynthebUsraeku right wing MKs refuse to rewrite the law to exclude Druze. Israel is a Jewish state for Jews only. Druze are outside it, lumped into that discriminated against minority, otherwise known as “Arab.”
[Comment deleted: only one comment per thread. Remember this in future.]
“..Israeli Military Censor Permits Reporting ..”
@Richard: can you shed some light on what he does not permit? i.e.
https://www.haaretz.co.il/news/.premium.HIGHLIGHT-1.10803684
@Eli: Read today’s New Post
It seems poetic justice for a Druze native collaborator to be killed by IDF fire.
@ Joachim: I consider this hate speech. Do it again and I will ban you.