A substantial portion of Israel’s politicians and citizens want the current conflict to serve as a prelude to the elimination of the Palestinians from Israel. From William Van Wagenan at thecradle.co:
Historically, the extremist ideology of Zionism has fully and openly sanctioned murder to achieve and maintain its goal of statehood. This includes Jews and non-Jews alike.
Photo Credit: The Cradle
On 7 October, the armed Palestinian resistance smashed through the Gaza border fence to carry out an unprecedented surprise assault on Israel, in which some 1,200 civilians and security forces were killed.
While Israel attributes its entire death toll to the resistance fighters, in particular Hamas and its military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, evidence has emerged that Israeli forces bear responsibility for a significant number of deaths.
This discrepancy blows a hole in the narrative pushed by Israeli and western media, which frames the Al-Aqsa Flood operation as the “deadliest single attack on Jews since the Holocaust.”
The Hannibal Directive
But would Israeli forces willingly kill their own – and why?
The key lies in understanding that the primary goal of the resistance operation was the capture of prisoners of war (POWs)— both soldiers and settlers — to be taken back to Gaza. These captives were intended as leverage to press Israel to meet Hamas’s demands, including ending the 17-year siege on Gaza and releasing thousands of Palestinians held without trial in Israeli prisons.
It is equally key to understand that Israel, doctrinally, will go to the most extreme lengths imaginable to prevent the taking of captives – including killing them. In an attempt to prevent Hamas from taking POWs, Israeli forces took drastic measures, including launching airstrikes on their own military base, firing tank rounds at civilian homes, and using overwhelming firepower to enforce the highly controversial Hannibal Directive.
This infamous military policy – which was altered but not removed in 2016 – allows commanders to sacrifice their own soldiers to prevent them from being captured, aiming to deny the enemy any leverage over the occupation state. A notable case was in 2006, when Hamas captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit on the Gaza border. After holding him captive for five agonizing years, Hamas was able to exchange Shalit for 1,027 Palestinians held prisoner in Israel.
