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    Miko Peled: The Israeli Defense Forces: The Most Inept Army in the World 📂 Archived Message

    Posted by sashimi on August 7, 2021, 12:02 pm

    6 August 2021

    Lede: There is a constant argument from Zionists that the Israeli Army is "the
    most moral army in the world," but there is another aspect of the IDF that is
    rarely discussed and that is the fact that it is inept, maybe even the most
    inept army in the world.

    (quote)
    HEBRON, PALESTINE - There is a constant argument between Zionists, who claim
    that the Israeli Army is "the most moral army in the world," and those who live
    in the real world, who understand that it is nothing but a ruthless army of
    occupation and oppression. But there is another aspect of the Israeli Army that
    is not discussed as often and that is the fact that it is inept, maybe even the
    most inept army in the world.

    The most obvious examples were in 2006 when the IDF's "finest units" had to face
    Hezbollah and ran, and then in the various attacks on Gaza when Israeli soldiers
    had to actually face Palestinian fighters and paid a heavy price. Even watching
    the Israeli Army conduct simple daily operations on any given day, one can
    clearly see that it is a clumsy, oversized body and that it possesses very
    little intelligence.

    Certainly, the Israeli Air Force can flatten any city, as long as that city -
    like Gaza, for example - has no defense capabilities. And Israeli tanks and
    artillery can destroy homes and kill - again, as long as the other side has no
    army with which to defend itself. And we know that Israeli snipers can shoot to
    kill or maim, as they choose, as long as they are safe and there is no one
    firing on them.

    A day in the field
    The following story happened to take place in the Old City of Hebron, on the
    ancient hill of Tel-Rumeida, but it could have been anywhere; indeed I had seen
    such examples of Israeli military clumsiness many times. I spent the day in the
    city of Hebron with my friend Issa Amro and we were at the YAS Center, or Youth
    Against Settlements. The Center has a lovely outdoor area that overlooks wide
    terraces with large, ancient olive trees. I stood there and I could see that a
    group of soldiers was training among the trees. I couldn't tell exactly how many
    there were but it seemed like perhaps it was a squad, or a team, as they
    sometimes refer to it - about 15 to 20 soldiers.

    The soldiers were young, fully armed, and wearing helmets with camouflage
    material on them, which makes them look ridiculous. Surely camouflage is
    important but, considering I could see them and so could anyone else who was
    around, it seemed ridiculous, if harmless. I had noticed a young man from the
    neighborhood casually walking through the trees holding a cup of coffee when I
    had to step away for a few minutes.

    When I returned I could see the soldiers busy with something and when I looked
    closely I saw the young man on the ground with the soldiers all around him. I
    called Issa to tell him and, without hesitation, he said "let's go." That was
    when the total ineptness of the Israeli Army began to unveil itself. Needless to
    say, neither Issa nor I were armed with anything save our phones. I followed
    Issa and began to record with my phone.

    As soon as we were within sight of the soldiers, we could see about seven or
    eight of them standing around one of the large trees and under the tree we could
    see the boy in his bright red T-shirt. Several soldiers started to yell at us
    "wafef, wakef," which means "stand, stand" or stop. They presumably wanted us to
    stop in our place. But that did not happen. Issa replied, "Why? We are allowed
    to be here, we are not breaking any laws."

    Then Issa proceeded to tell the soldiers that this boy should be released at
    once: "He lives in the neighborhood, his house is here."

    "Are you his father?" they asked.

    "No, just a friend, and I know him and his family; their house is right here!"

    "But he wasn't carrying an ID on him," the soldiers said.

    "Neither am I," Issa admitted. "We are in our own neighborhood and there is no
    requirement to carry ID while you are in your own neighborhood, I know the laws
    here."

    The soldiers had the boy sit on the ground under a tree that covered most of
    him. On the ground lay the contents of his pockets: An open, half-empty bottle
    of juice, a phone, a wallet, and two packs of cigarettes.

    A young lieutenant came up to explain to Issa that from now on everyone should
    carry their ID on them, everywhere. "You leave the house, ID in your pocket."
    Then he added "Do you know who is responsible for enforcing the laws here? Me!"

    "And me," Issa replied, "I am a human rights defender" - meaning he is making
    sure that the soldiers do not abuse their authority.

    Early on during the interaction, Issa pointed out to the soldiers that "We are
    not terrorists here," and then he turned to one of them, who was clearly aiming
    his gun at the boy: "Lower your gun." I caught the entire exchange on video and
    at that moment the soldier who was pointing his gun at the boy looked at Issa
    and then at his officer and, with a look of total dismay on his face, he lowered
    the gun.

    A potentially deadly "training"
    In the end, the boy went home, Issa and I turned back to the Center on top of
    the Tel-Rumeida, and the soldier left. As they left, I couldn't help thinking
    how clumsy, poorly trained, and full of themselves these soldiers were. Even the
    way they retreated made it clear that they were poorly trained. Certainly, they
    were in no danger at any moment during this exchange. But the way they left,
    none of them looked back, they were all walking with their heads hanging low and
    their guns clumsily hanging from their shoulders. And had someone wanted to harm
    them, they would have succeeded with ease.
    (/quote)
    -- Cont'd (with photos) at https://www.mintpressnews.com/israeli-defense-forces-most-inept-army-in-the-world/278157/

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