Israel Matzav: Israel to maintain Dahiya doctrine

Israel to maintain Dahiya doctrine

Goldstone or no Goldstone, the IDF has decided that it will continue to target civilian infrastructure that is used by terrorists. That means that in the next war, you will likely see scenes like the one below, which came from Hezbullah's Beirut enclave known as Dahiya during the Second Lebanon War.

Still, the IDF does not plan on significantly changing the way it fights in future conflicts. On the contrary, it will continue to target civilian infrastructure that is used by terrorists.

This is known in the IDF as the "Dahiya Doctrine," in reference to the neighborhood in Beirut that can only be accessed by card-carrying Hizbullah members. During the 2006 war, the IDF bombed large apartment buildings in the neighborhood since they were also used as Hizbullah command-and-control centers.

Speaking at a conference in Tel Aviv on Sunday, OC Northern Command Maj.-Gen. Gadi Eizenkot made clear that the IDF will continue to apply this doctrine in the future.

"Hizbullah is the one that is turning these areas into a battleground," Eizenkot said. "I hope this will restrain them - but if not, we need to explain to ourselves and to others that this is something Hizbullah has brought upon itself since it is building its combat zones inside these villages."

As a result, the IDF believes that the Goldstone Report was born out of a wrong perception of modern warfare and was written while ignoring the reality in Gaza and Lebanon. As a result, what the Operations Directorate believes is necessary, is not a commission of inquiry like the Winograd Commission after the Second Lebanon War, but a change in the world's understanding of the nature of modern warfare.

Until this happens, the IDF can expect to face many more Goldstone Reports in the future.

I'd rather face them alive than be dead trying to avoid them. Wouldn't you?

Israel Matzav: Israel to maintain Dahiya doctrine