Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a speech to Likud activists on Dec. 2 that was both
defensive and combative toward law
enforcement authorities. He complained about the supposedly suspicious
timing of the police announcement recommending his indictment for
taking bribes in Case 4000, coming as it did one day before Police
Commissioner Roni Alsheikh concluded his term in office.
Barely 48 hours later, on the morning of Dec. 4, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced the launch of
Operation Northern Shield
to locate tunnels dug by Hezbollah along the Lebanese-Israeli border.
Along with relevant remarks about the actual operation, quite a few
commenters joked and wondered about its timing.
“
Operation Bullshit” was how one commenter described it. Another ridiculed it as “
Operation Balfour Street,” a
reference to the address of the prime minister’s residence, and someone
else dubbed it “Operation 7000,” the sum of the criminal investigation
case names against Netanyahu — Cases 1000, 2000 and 4000. This last
comment was in response to an analysis published Dec. 4 in Haaretz by
military correspondent
Amos Harel,
who wondered whether the move was nothing more than an
“Operation Grandma,” referencing a satirical cult movie about Israel’s
obsession with defense.
None of those ridiculing the timing of Operation Northern Shield
expressed any doubt about the need to destroy the tunnels dug by
Hezbollah to infiltrate Israel, but the operation does raise quite a few
questions and doubts that are hardly amusing.
It turns out that the
IDF has long known about Hezbollah's cross-border tunnels. A senior military source told reporters that Israel
knows all about the Hezbollah project and is aware of every one of its tunnels (in the IDF's estimation). Interestingly, the operation has so far
exposed only one such tunnel, despite the great fuss.
The timing issue is not the only indication that the decision to
expose and block the tunnels involved considerations other than
security. The code name “Northern Shield” lends the impression of a
defensive operation of paramount importance, which it does not appear to
be. Added to that is the media circus the likes of which has not been
seen on Israel’s northern border since the Second Lebanon War
(2006), complete with live news updates throughout the day, as if there
were some sort of emergency.
And let us not forget that it all began with Netanyahu’s “urgent”
dash to Brussels
on the evening of Dec. 3 to meet with US Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo. Netanyahu’s office, instead of issuing a laconic announcement
about what was essentially a working meeting, volunteered that the prime
minister had taken off urgently “to discuss a defense-related
development
linked to Iran.” Did
Netanyahu fly all the way to Brussels to get the go-ahead for an
operation to locate tunnel openings within Israel’s sovereign borders?
The
photos from the northern border
on the following morning raised even more questions. The IDF deployed a
few bulldozers and some digging equipment for the type of activity that
it has carried out dozens, if not hundreds, of times
along the Gaza border
over the past two years. Down south, the IDF destroyed Hamas' flagship
tunnel project without fanfare, without long-winded declarations,
without pounding the drums of war, and certainly without leaks to the
media about an urgent overseas meeting.
Also in the case of the Hezbollah tunnels, the IDF actually
added to the hype when
it announced the “re-deployment of artillery and call up of
reserves.” As far as anyone knows, however, the tunnels up north are not
a flagship project for Hezbollah, especially when compared to the
importance Hamas accorded its tunnels. Hezbollah's primary efforts are
focused on other military strategies.
A war-like atmosphere — featuring attack tunnels, an
emergency operation, a call up of reserves, convening of the Security Cabinet — was created and then underscored by Netanyahu with a
special broadcast
to the nation on prime time, evening television. Media events of this
kind, designed to convey to the public that things are under control,
usually take place in times of war or after a multiple-victim terror
attack.
Surprisingly, the IDF went along with it all. Such military
operations are typically complex, sensitive, and dangerous. Secrecy is
generally preferable to beating the drums of war. The dramatic
declaration about the launch of widespread military operations and
creating a false impression of a major force deployment along the
northern border could have been interpreted as a (needless) declaration
of war against Hezbollah. So far, Israeli troops have not stepped an
inch into Lebanon, but the declarations and announcements, including
about mobilizing reserves, led Hezbollah to declare a state of
readiness. Who was it that the IDF had sought to scare? Hezbollah or
perhaps the Israeli public?
As noted, the IDF has thus far exposed only one tunnel. It could have
been cemented shut and reported as a successful, one-off operation.
Netanyahu, however, wanted (and got) a full-scale television performance
out of it to help him
rehabilitate his image
of being strong on defense, after it was tarnished by his decision to
accept a cease-fire deal with Hamas rather than get drawn into a war in
Gaza. The agreement drew harsh criticism from Netanyahu’s political
base. Since Netanyahu will have to hold elections some time in 2019, he
is now trying to rebuild his “Mr. Security” image as an indispensable
minister of defense.
In a bid to forestall HaBayit HaYehudi leaving the governing
coalition after the Nov. 14 resignation of Defense Minister Avigdor
Liberman over the Hamas cease-fire, Netanyahu called a news conference
on Nov. 18 and hinted that Israel was
facing a security threat,
the nature of which he could not divulge. In the midst of a security
campaign, said Netanyahu, “You don’t play politics.” In his case,
however, it appears that all means justify the end, even if it requires
launching an Operation Grandma or Operation Bullshit to rehabilitate
one's image.
Even in an
amusing video produced
for Hanukkah, the Prime Minister's Office portrays Netanyahu more as
defense minister than the leader of the country. The clip shows him
walking into a bakery, where there is a long line to buy Hanukkah
donuts. While waiting his turn, he goes on about his diplomatic
successes and the economic progress Israel has made. The video ends with
a “humble” request by one of the customers — a “selfie” with the
minister of defense.
Netanyahu will probably only call elections after he feels his
supporters have forgiven him for the Hamas cease-fire and view him as an
indispensable defense minister. Efforts to restore his image are
legitimate political moves. What is not acceptable and is even dangerous
is to launch a military operation that could have been conducted
differently — without using soldiers and bulldozers as props for
the defense minister to stage an operation to expose tunnels and conceal
criminal investigations.
Commenti
Posta un commento