Operation Determined Path
Encyclopedia
Operation Determined Path was a military operation carried out by the Israel Defense Forces
, starting June 22, 2002, following Operation Defensive Shield
, with the goal of reaching some of the unreached objectives set forth for Defensive Shield, especially in the northern West Bank
.
, mostly in attempts to arrest wanted persons. The regular units which participated in Defensive Shield were not rested. Israel suffered 64 major attacks which claimed the lives of 83 civilians.
Operation Determined Path was a military operation carried out by the Israel Defense Forces
, starting June 22, 2002, following Operation Defensive Shield
, with the goal of reaching some of the unreached objectives set forth for Defensive Shield, especially in the northern West Bank
.
, mostly in attempts to arrest wanted persons. The regular units which participated in Defensive Shield were not rested. Israel suffered 64 major attacks which claimed the lives of 83 civilians.
Operation Determined Path was a military operation carried out by the Israel Defense Forces
, starting June 22, 2002, following Operation Defensive Shield
, with the goal of reaching some of the unreached objectives set forth for Defensive Shield, especially in the northern West Bank
.
, mostly in attempts to arrest wanted persons. The regular units which participated in Defensive Shield were not rested. Israel suffered 64 major attacks which claimed the lives of 83 civilians. June 18 saw the Patt junction bus bombing in Jerusalem, in which nineteen people were killed. Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon
, visited, for the first time as PM, the location. That day, he ordered Determined Path. According to a poll, 80% of Jewish Israelis supported it.
operatives in the Gaza Strip
slipped through Israeli security to the West Bank and had begun to produce explosives there. The effort was aimed mostly at Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad cells.
In the first phase, heavy forces entered the West Bank towns and took up positions. The IDF put a curfew and arrested wanted persons. After a few weeks, the fixed positions were abandoned (except in Nablus
), but the units kept entering almost nightly to make arrests. On July 7, Israeli Defense Minister, Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, said that in the course of Determined Path, 150 wanted persons were arrested, including ten potential suicide bombers, and fourteen explosive labs were exposed. After two weeks, the IDF called it a "great success", citing the decline in Palestinian attacks and the absence of Israeli casualties. The third week of the operation saw two Palestinian attacks, one in Immanuel
and one Tel Aviv
.
, tanks and armored personnel carriers on patrol were often replaced by one or two jeeps. Colonel Moshe Tamir, commander of the Golani Brigade
, became commander of the Jenin district. His troops were deployed outside the city, mostly on the seam line. They went in and out of the city according to need, mostly for specific arrests. In Hebron
, 180 Palestinian suspects were arrested during the operation.
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
, starting June 22, 2002, following Operation Defensive Shield
Operation Defensive Shield
Operation Defensive Shield was a large-scale military operation conducted by the Israel Defense Forces in 2002, during the course of the Second Intifada. It was the largest military operation in the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War. The operation was an attempt by the Israeli army to stop the...
, with the goal of reaching some of the unreached objectives set forth for Defensive Shield, especially in the northern West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
.
Background
In the two months following Defensive Shield, five IDF officers and soldiers were killed in activity in the Palestinian territoriesPalestinian territories
The Palestinian territories comprise the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, the region is today recognized by three-quarters of the world's countries as the State of Palestine or simply Palestine, although this status is not recognized by the...
, mostly in attempts to arrest wanted persons. The regular units which participated in Defensive Shield were not rested. Israel suffered 64 major attacks which claimed the lives of 83 civilians.
Operation Determined Path was a military operation carried out by the Israel Defense Forces
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
, starting June 22, 2002, following Operation Defensive Shield
Operation Defensive Shield
Operation Defensive Shield was a large-scale military operation conducted by the Israel Defense Forces in 2002, during the course of the Second Intifada. It was the largest military operation in the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War. The operation was an attempt by the Israeli army to stop the...
, with the goal of reaching some of the unreached objectives set forth for Defensive Shield, especially in the northern West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
.
Background
In the two months following Defensive Shield, five IDF officers and soldiers were killed in activity in the Palestinian territoriesPalestinian territories
The Palestinian territories comprise the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, the region is today recognized by three-quarters of the world's countries as the State of Palestine or simply Palestine, although this status is not recognized by the...
, mostly in attempts to arrest wanted persons. The regular units which participated in Defensive Shield were not rested. Israel suffered 64 major attacks which claimed the lives of 83 civilians.
Operation Determined Path was a military operation carried out by the Israel Defense Forces
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
, starting June 22, 2002, following Operation Defensive Shield
Operation Defensive Shield
Operation Defensive Shield was a large-scale military operation conducted by the Israel Defense Forces in 2002, during the course of the Second Intifada. It was the largest military operation in the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War. The operation was an attempt by the Israeli army to stop the...
, with the goal of reaching some of the unreached objectives set forth for Defensive Shield, especially in the northern West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
.
Background
In the two months following Defensive Shield, five IDF officers and soldiers were killed in activity in the Palestinian territoriesPalestinian territories
The Palestinian territories comprise the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, the region is today recognized by three-quarters of the world's countries as the State of Palestine or simply Palestine, although this status is not recognized by the...
, mostly in attempts to arrest wanted persons. The regular units which participated in Defensive Shield were not rested. Israel suffered 64 major attacks which claimed the lives of 83 civilians. June 18 saw the Patt junction bus bombing in Jerusalem, in which nineteen people were killed. Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon is an Israeli statesman and retired general, who served as Israel’s 11th Prime Minister. He has been in a permanent vegetative state since suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006....
, visited, for the first time as PM, the location. That day, he ordered Determined Path. According to a poll, 80% of Jewish Israelis supported it.
Operation
The IDF issued emergency drafts, although with a specified release date, unlike the ones issued before Defensive Shield. Israeli intelligence argued that a few top HamasHamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
operatives in the Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
slipped through Israeli security to the West Bank and had begun to produce explosives there. The effort was aimed mostly at Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad cells.
In the first phase, heavy forces entered the West Bank towns and took up positions. The IDF put a curfew and arrested wanted persons. After a few weeks, the fixed positions were abandoned (except in Nablus
Nablus
Nablus is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 126,132. Located in a strategic position between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a Palestinian commercial and cultural center.Founded by the...
), but the units kept entering almost nightly to make arrests. On July 7, Israeli Defense Minister, Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, said that in the course of Determined Path, 150 wanted persons were arrested, including ten potential suicide bombers, and fourteen explosive labs were exposed. After two weeks, the IDF called it a "great success", citing the decline in Palestinian attacks and the absence of Israeli casualties. The third week of the operation saw two Palestinian attacks, one in Immanuel
Immanuel (town)
Immanuel is an Israeli settlement and a town with local council status in the West Bank. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics ,...
and one Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
.
Aftermath
A month after the start of the operation, a one senior IDF officer in the territories said he felt that for the time being, it was "delivering the goods". The two attacks were cited as exceptions to the rule which prove it. In JeninJenin
Jenin is the largest town in the Northern West Bank, and the third largest city overall. It serves as the administrative center of the Jenin Governorate and is a major agricultural center for the surrounding towns. In 2007, the city had a population of 120,004 not including the adjacent refugee...
, tanks and armored personnel carriers on patrol were often replaced by one or two jeeps. Colonel Moshe Tamir, commander of the Golani Brigade
Golani Brigade
The Golani Brigade is an Israeli infantry brigade that is subordinated to the 36th Division and traditionally associated with the Northern Command. Its symbol is a green tree on a yellow background, and its soldiers wear a brown beret. It is one of the most highly decorated infantry units in the...
, became commander of the Jenin district. His troops were deployed outside the city, mostly on the seam line. They went in and out of the city according to need, mostly for specific arrests. In Hebron
Hebron
Hebron , is located in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judean Mountains, it lies 930 meters above sea level. It is the largest city in the West Bank and home to around 165,000 Palestinians, and over 500 Jewish settlers concentrated in and around the old quarter...
, 180 Palestinian suspects were arrested during the operation.