This week Israel carried out anti-terror operations against Islamist extremists in Nablus, a city that is a stronghold for Palestinian terror groups in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank).
This was a highly skilled operation that targeted known terrorists and was carried out with precision and the greatest of care. It was necessary to protect Israeli civilians from planned terror attacks, but as expected, the enemies of Israel are distorting the truth to smear Israel with the media and governments taking the bait.
The media was quick to paint Israeli forces in a negative light. Headlines highlighted the number of those killed by Israeli troops without any context as to who they were or how they died. Likewise, countries were quick to issue statements of condemnation before the dust of the operation had fully settled. The Palestinians led the anti-Israel propaganda campaign with their lies and distortions.
The truth is that the vast majority of those killed by Israeli forces were armed terrorists. And almost all of them were actively involved in an armed shootout with Israeli troops.
The IDF operation was an attempt to arrest three wanted terrorists from the Lion’s Den terror group. All three wanted terrorists targeted in the arrest were killed during the ensuing shootout.
The three wanted men were identified as Husam Aslim, 24, a senior terrorist in the Lions’ Den group who carried out shooting and IED attacks and dispatched the murderers of IDF St.-Sgt. Ido Baruch; Muhammad a-Fatah, 24, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist who carried out shooting attacks against IDF; and Walid Dahil, 24, a member of the Lions’ Den group who fired at soldiers in Judea and Samaria.
After researching the death toll of Palestinians killed during an Israeli operation in Nablus to apprehend suspects involved in the killing of Ido Baruch, I asses that seven Palestinians killed by Israeli forces were members of militant groups or affiliated w/ them. pic.twitter.com/tQzM5YVAwg
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) February 23, 2023
One of the main things Israel is blamed for is the number of casualties during the operation. Over 100 people were injured in the clashes. As usual, most people assume that those injured are civilians. Even if this was the case, the blame cannot be placed entirely on Israel.
This video shows how heavily armed terrorists were shooting at Israeli forces while surrounded by onlookers, making it extremely hard for Israel to return fire without injuring a bystander. It also increases the likelihood of terrorists accidentally hitting their own people.
This is a clear example of terrorists using human shields and is a regular occurrence during these heavy shootouts between Israeli forces and the Palestinian terrorists.
Amazes me these guys don't end up accidentally shooting their comrades as they aim wildly at Israeli security forces. https://t.co/7ZzBAXFYSM
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) February 24, 2023
Likewise, there could have been a number of Palestinians injured in the rock throwing attacks against Israeli forces.
The video below shows how Israeli troops come under heavy bombardment from rioting Palestinians. There is a high likelihood that some of those injured were injured by rocks thrown by other Palestinians.
IDF troops leaving Nablus on Wednesday… pic.twitter.com/7a9Qu4Rqsv
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) February 23, 2023
There are countless videos online that are in the public sphere that highlight just how careful Israel was during this operation. There are many which are too graphic to show here, which include Palestinians, armed with guns, being neutralised by Israeli forces. There is even a video of a Palestinian terrorist jumping from a building and breaking his leg. He’s one of the “injured”, despite him being an armed terrorist who was fighting Israelis and giving himself an injury.
Furthmore, there is video evidence that the Israeli operation was carried out with expertise. One video shared below shows how a Palestinian terrorist used a child as a human shield. The Israeli soldier refused to open fire because it would endanger the child.
Despite the vast swathes of evidence in Israel’s favour, and despite Israel being far more careful in its operations than coalition forces were when dealing with terror groups in the region like ISIS and Al-Qaeda, the governments of the world are quick to condemn Israel.
Even the United States issued a statement saying it was “deeply concerned” about the number of those injured, without blaming the Palestinian terrorists for their wreckless actions. And while we do not want to see civilians hurt on either side of this conflict, we must stress that Israel is not to blame for this. And we are disheartened that Israel’s closest ally is not doing more to defend Israel for this blatant smear campaign.
Despite all the negativity surrounding the operation, Israeli leaders have lauded the actions of their forces.
Israel’s Defense Ministerpraised the soldiers who carried out the counterterror operation in Shechem (Nablus) and vowed to continue to crack down on Palestinian terror in Judea and Samaria.
“I congratulate the security forces who acted yesterday in Nablus, under pressure and heavy fire, against terrorists who planned to carry out attacks on Israeli territory,” Gallant said.
“The combination between the intelligence operations, the planning and execution of the fighters brought an impressive achievement to our forces, who successfully completed their mission and prevented harm to the citizens of Israel.”
“We will be crippled by terrorism everywhere until we exterminate it,” Gallant added. “The IDF and the security forces will act hard against terrorists.”
“This was the case a few weeks ago in Jenin and Jericho, this was also the case in Nablus, and this will be the case whenever we are required to act.”
We must continue to pray for Israel’s leaders and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) as they continue to counter Palestinian terrorism and Islamist extremism in Judea and Samaria. So far this year we have seen Israeli civilians shot dead outside a synagogue and mowed down at a bus station, including children murdered simply for being Jewish. The people who carried out these attacks were members of the terror groups that Israel is going after in these operations. Israel has a right to protect its citizens from terror, and the world should stand along side them in their efforts.
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