Tag Archive for IDF

| July 20, 2015
No comments

Is IDF’s planned metamorphosis a sign of future Iranian action?

Senior defense source says coming years represent opportunity for the  IDF to adapt to future challenges, but says Israel’s military establishment will need $16.05-$16.84 billion a year to do it.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN

 

The IDF is seeking government commitment to a multi-year defense spending plan – a commitment that has been absent for the past several years – as it prepares to deal with the possibility of a covert Iranian attempt to break through to nuclear weapons production, a senior defense source said on Sunday.

A SATELLITE view of the Fordow nuclear plant. The plant will not be shut down under the Vienna agreement, but no enrichment will be allowed there.

Continue Reading »
Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| July 11, 2015
No comments

Arab News: IDF enters Syria with tanks & bulldozers to clear refugee camp near border

IDF task force with tanks and bulldozers crosses half-kilometre into Syria to dismantle a Nusra Front controlled refugee camp, according to Arab media reports
• IDF declines to comment.

By Daniel Siryoti & Israel Hayom Staff

 

An Israeli military task force, accompanied by tanks and bulldozers, crossed about 500 yards into Syrian territory near Quneitra recently and dismantled a refugee camp in the area, Arab news outlets reported Thursday.

Israeli Druze look over the border with concern at the fighting in Syria – Photo: AP

According to the reports, the refugee camp, consisting of tin huts and tents, was built in an area controlled by the Nusra Front and was home to dozens of Syrian families that had fled the nearby fighting. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , , ,
| June 17, 2015
No comments

IDF Chief Promises to Protect Syria’s Druze from ‘Massacre’

Responding to Israeli Druze anxieties, Lt. Gen. Eizenkot vows to prevent harm to Druze community on Syria’s side of the Golan Heights.

By Arutz Sheva Staff

 

Israel pledged Tuesday to protect any refugees who fled towards the Jewish state after a rebel offensive in Syria and Islamist violence there raised fears about the Druze minority’s safety.

A significant number of Druze live in Israel, and leading members of the community have called on the government to help their brethren in Syria following the recent violence.

Without mentioning the Druze, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot said the authorities were preparing for a possible influx of Syrian refugees and would prevent a potential massacre at the border. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , , ,
| June 16, 2015
No comments

IDF Declare Northwest Area of Golan Heights “Closed Military Zone”

Civilians who are not local residents cannot travel in the area because of the intensive battles between Assad forces & rebels on the Syrian side of the border.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN

 

The IDF and Israel Police declared a section of the north east of the Golan Heights a closed military zone on Tuesday.

An IDF soldier looks out from a position on Mt. Hermon

An IDF soldier looks out from a position on Mt. Hermon. – Photo courtesy: IDF SPOKESPERSON’S UNIT

The decision means civilians who are not local residents, such as tourists, cannot travel in the area.

It comes after intensive battles raged between Assad regime forces and rebels on the Syrian part of the border in recent days. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| June 12, 2015
No comments

IDF closes case into wrongful deaths of 4 boys on Gaza beach

Decision by military’s Magistrate to close case could still have consequences for the IDF legally and for Israel diplomatically.

By YONAH JEREMY BOB

 

No criminal charges will be filed against soldiers involved in one of the most infamous incidents of the 2014 Gaza war with Hamas, the killing of four boys on an open Gaza beach area as they reportedly played soccer on a sunny July day, the IDF Magistrate’s office reported late Thursday night.

Gaza

A Palestinian man walks atop the remains of a house that witnesses said was destroyed by Israeli shelling during a 50-day war last summer, in the southern Gaza Strip, March 10.

Continue Reading »
Category: Israel News | Tags: ,
| June 10, 2015
One comment

Int’l Legal Experts Criticize IDF For Exaggerated Steps In Warning Gazans Before Strikes

Military law experts from Germany & US say IDF’s worries over automatic int’l condemnations based on double-standards, sets impossible yardstick for democracies fighting future asymmetric wars against terrorists.

By Ari Yashar

 

The IDF went to extraordinary lengths last summer to prevent civilian casualties while fighting Hamas terrorists in Gaza, achieving a remarkable 1:1 civilian to combatant ratio, but according to international legal experts it went too far in avoiding casualties among the enemy population.

IDF (illustration) – Photo: IDF Spokesperson Unit

Willy Stern of Vanderbilt Law School, in an article to be published next Monday in the Weekly Standard, details what he found while spending two weeks with attorneys in the IDF’s international law department dubbed “Dabla” as well as front-line commanders, and documents the IDF’s “legal zeal” which as he notes has not stemmed the deluge of international criticism against it. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , ,
| June 4, 2015
No comments

IDF to establish 3rd mixed-gender infantry combat battalion

The new infantry battalion will be assigned to protect the border, with the women having to agree to serve an extra year, to make their induction time in the IDF matching that of men’s service.

By Lilach Shoval

 

This year’s August draft will also inaugurate the third mixed-gender combat battalion in the Israel Defense Forces, Israel Hayom has learned. The new battalion will be defined as a light infantry battalion assigned to protect the borders, much like the existing Caracal and Lions of Jordan battalions.

During an exercise male & female soldiers push each other along while some carry the stretcher.

Continue Reading »
Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| May 29, 2015
No comments

IDF’s Annual Home Front Nationwide Drill to Test Israel’s Catastrophic Readiness

National exercise will simulate multiple missile fire on cities, damage to strategic military sites, large-scale terrorist attacks, & other possible scenarios in a future war against Hezbollah and/or Hamas.

By Yoav Zitun

 

The annual Home Front Command military exercise will commence next Sunday, simulating a number of war scenarios, after a hiatus last year caused by Operation Protective Edge.

The annual exercise in 2013 (Photo: IDF Spokesman)
The annual exercise in 2013 – Photo: IDF Spokesman

The exercise is scheduled to continue until next Thursday, and will focus this year on two scenarios that could occur in another conflict: a multi-front war, meaning simultaneous missile and rocket barrages from southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, as well as damage to essential strategic sites such as seaports and airports, power stations, and water facilities.
Continue Reading »
Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| May 29, 2015
No comments

New IDF Weapon: The Hero, a Tactical Kamikaze-like Drone

The new weapon carried in a soldier’s backpack, is launched anywhere & when airborne, loiters over target until situation allows, then attacks target like a missile.

By Arutz Sheva

 

After years of development, UVision Air Ltd. of Israel has unveiled its new weapon system: drones capable of loitering over a target and attacking it like a missile, reports IsraelDefense.

The Hero UAV – Israel Defense

While “Kamikaze” drones, like the IAI’s Harop, have existed on the battlefield for at least ten years, thus far they were intended primarily for strikes against strategic targets – that is, important targets, deep in enemy territory.

Continue Reading »
Category: Israel News | Tags: , , ,
| May 29, 2015
No comments

5 Israeli combat soldiers disciplined for uploaded Eurovision dance video

5 IDF soldiers are confined to their base for 21 days after uploading a video of them dancing to ‘Golden Boy’ goes public, violating several security protocols.

By Rotem Elizera

 

Five IDF soldiers from an engineering battalion in the paratroopers have found themselves in trouble for a video showing them dancing to the Israeli entry to this year’s Eurovision song contest.

YouTube screenshot

The video was a hit, but in the eyes of their commander, who sentenced them to 21 days confinement to their base.

The video, which was filmed in the run-up to last Saturday’s contest, shows the five dancing in formation to “Golden Boy”, sung by Nadav Guedj. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: ,
| May 27, 2015
No comments

Druze reservists angry over IDF’s decision to disband battalion

Druze reservists threaten to petition High Court and hold demonstrations outside the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv if decision isn’t reversed.

By Yossi Yehoshua

 

High-ranking Druze reservists opposed to the move have sent a harshly worded letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in which they call on him to intervene. The Druze officers warn that if the decision is not rescinded, they will petition the High Court of Justice and stage demonstrations outside the Kirya base in Tel Aviv.

IDF's Druze Herev Battalion during exercise - Photo: IsraelandStuf/PPMembers of all-Druze Herev Battalion during exercise protecting Northern settlement on border with Lebanon – Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP

Herev was formed in 1974 and around 400 Druze soldiers currently serve in the battalion, which is involved primarily in routine security duties along the border with Lebanon. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| May 20, 2015
No comments

IDF to introduce ‘more humane’ non-lethal bullet to neutralize rioters

After extensive testing, defense officials approves use of rubber-based ammunition in the West Bank by specially authorized IDF & Border Guard units to disperse aggressive rioters.

By Yoav Zitun

 

The IDF will soon introduce a new means for riot dispersal. Following a series of experiments recently performed by the military, the use of non-lethal ammunition has been approved as a method to avoid escalations of violence.

Non-lethal ammunition used by the IDF

An Army officer told Ynet that the rubber bullet “is considered a more humane weapon”.

The military has considered using the non-lethal method in the West Bank that is already used by Israeli police, but doubts regarding its lethality prevented its use. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: ,
| May 18, 2015
No comments

Dep. Minister Kara Distraught Over Decision to Terminate Druze Battalion

MK Ayoub Kara opposes Chief of Staff’s decision to shut down ethnic unit, as most Druze recruits would rather integrate into the IDF like other soldiers do.

By Yishai Karov & Gil Ronen

 

Deputy Minister Ayoub Kara is upset over the decision by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot, to shut down the Druze Battalion.

The decision to close down the battalion after 40 years of existence was reported Monday on the IDF Website.

Eizenkot’s decision “does a disservice to the heritage and past of one of the IDF’s most important and fascinating units,” he said, “despite the desire for change and integration among the young Druze, which I support.” Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , ,
| May 14, 2015
No comments

Israel’s President inspects new IDF submarine during visit to Germany

President Rivlin visits German shipyard in Kiel, where Israeli commandos are presently training to operate new INS Rahav, which is expected to arrive in Haifa during the upcoming year.

By Roi Yanovsky

 

President Reuven Rivlin visited the Kiel shipyards in Germany on Wednesday, receiving a private tour aboard the INS Rahav – the fifth submarine expected to arrive in Israel.

Rivlin visits new submarine in Germany – עמוס בן גרשום, לע”מ

“You are our fortified wall on our maritime borders, and nowhere is too far for you when it comes to Israel’s safety,” the president told the submarine commandos.

The tour of the submarine was held on the last day of Rivlin’s visit to Germany to mark 50 years of diplomatic relations between the two nations. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| May 13, 2015
No comments

Staff Sgt. ‘Dr. Golani’, Ph.D., receives Nefesh B’Nefesh leadership award

From Alabama, & too old to be drafted, Asaf Stein, Ph.D., battled with the IDF to volunteer for the army in a combat position, and won.

By Lilach Shoval

 

“I am a Zionist,” Staff Sgt. Asaf Stein said after receiving the 2015 Bonei Zion Award from Nefesh B’Nefesh at a special ceremony in the Knesset building on Tuesday.

Staff Sgt. Asaf Stein, Ph.D., holds his IDF and National Service Young Leadership award from Nefesh B’Nefesh – Photo: Dudi Vaaknin

Stein, who served in the Golani Infantry Brigade’s reconnaissance battalion and is called “Dr. Golani” by his friends (because of his Ph.D.),

Continue Reading »
Category: Israel News | Tags: , , , ,
« Older Entries   Recent Entries »