Air War. Israel/Palestine. Part 1

I am, continuously, receiving demands to not only continue covering developments in the War in Ukraine, but also resume my reporting about developments in Israel/Palestine, and ‘related conflicts’ in the Middle East. Not easy to do so, primarily for the lack of time. Furthermore, during my ‘hiatus’ in regards of this topic, there was that absurd situation: over the last three months, many things have happened, even if none were really ‘news’. See: such disgusting characters with a memory slightly better than that of the fish, like me, have heard and seen all of this already so many times before. But Ok: there are few thoughts flying in circles around my lonesome brain cell for days already. Thus, before I might go on, let me put them on the paper: define and organise them, too. Indeed, let me start with something for all those still wondering how comes I say ‘no news’.

As far as I’m concerned, it all began back in 1982. As first, Argentinians invaded Falklands, and the British counterattacked and re-took the archipelago. I vividly recall photographs and videos of the smoldering wrack of the destroyer HMS Sheffield; of a crewmember of the ARA General Belgrano snapping photos of the cruiser sinking by the stern; of Argentinean Dassault Mirage 5s (a.k.a. ‘Israeli Aircraft Industries Dagger’) and Douglas A-4 Skyhawks streaking low to bomb British ships in San Carlos Bay; of ammunition storage of the frigate HMS Antilope blowing up…

Only months later, TV-news were showing endlessly long rows of Israeli M60 and Merkava main battle tanks advancing into Lebanon as Israel invaded that country in the Operation with ironic name ‘Peace for Galilee’.

 

I say, this is how it all began – for me – because these were the first two wars I’ve ‘monitored in real time’… as far as this was possible, considering back then there was no internet, no social media, and all the information available was what we’ve got from the newspapers, diverse magazines, TV, and the radio… (…erm… can you imagine yourself trying to follow the War in Ukraine, nowadays, with help of newspapers and the TV alone…? Ah well, never mind….)

Much latter, I’ve heard of something called ‘air policing’. After reading about that issue, a bit… just a few dozens of books or so, nothing really important… it turned out that air policing was the strategy the British have developed to counter a massive armed uprising of the Sunni and Shi’a in Mesopotamia (subsequently re-named Iraq, by the British), of 1920.

What was the story? Ah, nothing important. Essentially, towards the end of the First World War, the British Empire was in a rush to conquer the failing Ottoman Empire. The ‘Sick Man on Bosporus’. And, once the ‘Commonwealth’ troops entered the area of that crumbling empire, they’ve found the locals used to something as disgusting as local self-administration. Because: that’s was the way the Ottoman Empire was organised and administered the last few decades of its existence. Of course, such barbaric and obscene practices had to be completely eradicated, not just ignored. After all, the civilised British Christians knew better and thus they’ve set upon replacing the barbarities of the Ottoman Empire with a number of artificial states, all ruled by dictatorships of minorities, and based on literal ‘lines in the sand’: borders where there were no borders ever before.

Problem: after four years of murderous war in Europe (because, you know, the First World War was fought in Europe only…), London was short on money. Plus, it had a well-proven practice where all of its colonies had to be self-financing, and profitable.

Ah, you mean Iraq was never a British colony? Of course it was none. After all, it was called a ‘Mandate’…

But, I’m digressing… around the same time, back in 1920, London was also facing the fact its own population was not really keen to fight another (pointless) war – even more so considering around the same time London was successful in pacifying and bringing civilisation to Ireland, Russia, the Ottoman Empire/Republic of Turkey and few other places, too. So, the solution found was to keep the ‘garrison’ in Iraq minimal in size, and ‘just’ counter the insurgency (primarily, though not exclusively) by the mans of air power. And the air power – i.e. the air policing – was functioning so that the aircraft of the Royal Air Force (RAF) were foremost bombing Iraqi civilians. The concept was to kill and terrorise civilians so much so they would force their insurgents to give up their armed struggle… absolutely unheard ever since, especially in the Middle East, isn’t it?

 

Have no doubts: proponents of that strategy are all in agreement that air policy worked beyond belief. So much so that it became a de-facto prototype for what is the West doing in the Middle East ever since. So well, that 104 years later Iraq cannot but be described as an oasis of peace, love, and brotherly coexistence of different ethnic- and religious groups…

At least there is no denial that we all – our idiotic politicians, the oligarchy bribing- and controlling our idiotic politicians, our incompetent media (owned by the same oligarchy), and – last but not least – ‘we’, ‘the people’, the ‘electoral body’, the very essence of our shiny klepto-… erm.. democracies, have all learned our lessons. Because we’re ah so civilised and cultivated that at every opportunity, but especially whenever it’s about those dastardly Muslims, all of whom – including children, women, and elderly – are well-known as terrorists, we all call, in unison: hang them higher, we want to see blood!

….or air policy them.

Point is: just like the air policing of Iraq was so incredibly successful, so also the ‘air policing’ of Lebanon in 1982 (actually, when it comes to Israel applying air policing to Lebanon: already since 1969 or so) was even more successful. Forty-two years since the invasion of Lebanon of 1982, and just for example: Lebanon is a failed state in which nothing happens without permission of Hezbollah.

Doesn’t matter. Or if, then it’s not Israel to blame. Lebanon is a French creation and it’s all a deed of Arab terrorists. Had they only left the minority of local Christians continue ruling the country as they like… Much more important is that we all cannot mention the word Hezbollah without adding ‘terrorist organisation’… Or are you supporting terrorists – if you don’t?

….so much so, our politicians and the media couldn’t even say that Hezbollah is meanwhile little else but ‘IRGC West’, i.e. a branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (of Iran), grown in Lebanon. Even less so would our media come to the idea to inform us about Hezbollah (i.e. the IRGC) nowadays primarily financing itself through drugs-smuggling – to the EU and around the Middle East.

….and who cares if another wonderful achievement of that Israeli invasion of Lebanon from 1982 is the fact that nowadays about half the population of the Galilee – northern Israel – remains evacuated from their homes for the fourth month in succession. I’m sure this is not related to the fact that the threat of IRGC/Hezbollah missiles and rockets from (southern) Lebanon is more serious than ever before.

….must be because the Israeli invasion of Lebanon of 1982 was not only justified, but ah so very much successful. A classic example of a giant military victory, indeed…

Therefore, air policing is applied – with immense success – in response to unprovoked invasion and mass murder of Israeli civilians by yet another Arab/Middle Eastern terrorist organisation (this time: Hamas, of course), of 7 October 2023. Unprovoked, because there was no war, no ethnic cleansing, no mass murder, no institutionalised military violence – so also not against Arab women – in Israel/Palestine for… guess how long? The last 106+ years already.

Sure, some are going to argue that what Israel is doing in the Gaza Strip (and the West Bank) stands in no relation to air policing. After all, Israel’s strategy is even more successful than the British of the 1920s. So much so that for the last two months the super-competent Israeli Defence Force (IDF) – i.e. armed forces of Israel – can’t continue their advance into the Gaza Strip. Essentially, they’ve deployed (whether complete or in parts) the following units:

36^th Armoured Division (central Gaza), including,  

-          1^st Infantry Brigade

-          6^th Infantry Brigade

-          7^th Armour Brigade

-          188^th Armour Brigade

-          697^th Armour Brigade

-          828^th Infantry Brigade, plus

98^th Para Division, including,

-          35^th Para Brigade

-          55^th Para Brigade

-          551^st Para Brigade

-          828^th Infantry Brigade, plus,

143^rd Division (‘Gaza Territorial Division’)

-          261^st Infantry Brigade

-          7643^rd Territorial Brigade

-          6643^rd Territorial Brigade, plus,

162^nd Armoured Division (northern Gaza), including

-          84^th Infantry Brigade

-          401^st Armoured Brigade

-          460^th Armoured Brigade (including the Search and Rescue Brigade, i.e. at least its 498^th Battalion)

-          551^st Para Brigade

-          933^rd Infantry Brigade, plus,

214^th Artillery Brigade (with an Integrated Fire Support Centre), including

-          4^th Armoured Brigade

-          11^th Commando Brigade

-          179^th Armoured Brigade

-          646^th Para Brigade, plus,

252^nd Armoured Division (Bayt Hanaoun Sector), including

-          10^th Armoured Brigade

-          12^th Infantry Brigade

-          14^th Armoured Brigade

-          16^th Infantry Brigade

…plus a host of other, smaller units, plus about 18 engineering battalions, plus special forces units (like Shayetet 13, Unit 5101, Special Tactics Rescue Unit 669, Unit 7149, 414^th Intel Battalion, Unit 504) and then have besieged the Gaza City in the north and Khan Yunis in the south and, well, that’s it.

Hope, now you can see why I say, ‘no news’. If nothing else, that with the siege of the Gaza City and Khan Yunis began back in November 2023, and not much has changed ever since. And it strongly reminds of the Israeli siege of Beirut of the summer 1982… But hey! Who cares? It’s obvious this is another giant Israeli military victory. No civilians are killed at all, and Israel is going to prevail. No doubt about this.

At least as important: the IDF is so successful, it’s suffering no losses. If losses ever happen, the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) is publishing all the names of its casualties: Israel is such a small country, everybody knows each other and his/her next kin and not one loss can avoid public attention - and all those insistent on such conclusions are collecting detailed statistics, too…

 

And so, it’s well known that by now some 170+ Israeli troops were killed in fighting inside the Gaza Strip. At least 30 of them in friendly fire and other accidents. This is a real war, hard war, long war, but Israel is simply suffering no losses at all: therefore, such figures are not worth mention…

Just like it’s not worth mention that 330+ of Israelis killed by Hamas on 7 October were IDF troops; that another 150+ were Israeli police officers; and that many of them – as well as so many of Israeli civilians massacred by terrorists that day – were actually killed by the IDF, because the latter was shooting at, literally, everybody and everything. Even less worth mention is that – when facing pressure from the Israeli media – the Israeli Ministry of Defence admitted that as of mid-December about 10,000 of IDF troops were wounded and 2,000 discharged from service for permanent disabilities.

 

This is not discussed in the Western media and thus simply doesn’t matter. What matters instead are Israeli PRBS-fabrications about ’40 beheaded babies’ and similar… Indeed, what does matter is that the IDF and the Israeli Air Space Force (IASF) have destroyed well over 20,000 command centres of Hamas, and 15,000km of tunnels… all of them constructed underneath every single hospital in the Gaza Strip. Only.

One is thus left to wonder was it by accident the God’s Chosen People claim to have killed 10,000+ Hamas terrorists, plus scores of Israelis and foreigners held hostages by terrorists? And including such human animals like when this Israeli soldier brags about shooting two Palestinian kids by head-shots, while these bitchy little terrorists were playing football; or when this Israeli soldier brags about shooting a 12-years-young Palestinian girl, because he (quote from his own statement) couldn’t find any babies to massacre?

***

Sorry, but this all is - really - absolutely no news. At least not in the Middle East. At least not for the last 100+ years, and not in the time of my life. 

to be continued

The content is published with the permission of the author. First published here.