Saturday 17 June 2023

 

Weapons of the West Bank resistance: Where do they come from?

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On 22 April, Israeli occupation authorities apprehended Jordanian parliamentarian Imad al-Adwan at the Allenby Bridge crossing. But this was no ordinary arrest. Adwan was caught attempting to smuggle an astonishing cache of over 200 guns and bags of gold into the occupied-Palestinian West Bank.

Adwan’s audacious actions have reignited Israel’s long-held fears that Palestinian resistance factions in the West Bank could acquire a significant arsenal of firearms from across the border with Jordan. Yet the notion of such a daring endeavor is implausible and fraught with risks.

The resistance is more likely to simply purchase black market arms from sources within 1948-occupied Palestine (Israel), especially given its greater access to funds from supporters in the Iran-led Axis of Resistance. The Iranian leadership has previously vowed to arm West Bank resistance factions, just as they have done for their Gaza-based counterparts.

MP Adwan, who is a member of the Jordanian parliament’s Palestine committee and has previously spoken out against Israel’s routine aggression against Palestinians and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, is no stranger to Israeli intelligence.

The Shin Bet said that since February 2022, Adwan had used his diplomatic passport 12 times to smuggle various goods, including “birds, pigeons, electronic cigarettes and gold,” and in 2023, had begun smuggling weapons “out of greed and received large sums of money.”

Local vs. smuggled weapons

A researcher at the Jerusalem Institute for Public Relations retired General Yossi Kuperwasser, confirmed that this is not the first time that Adwan has transferred weapons to the occupied West Bank.

Kuperwasser hinted that Adwan’s arrest was based on intelligence information from the Jordanian side and that the Jordanian authorities did not arrest him, so as to avoid arousing the anger of Adwan’s clan, who have since hailed him as a “brave patriot.”

According to Yedioth Ahronoth journalist Jackie Khoji, the members of this clan are spread out on “the borders with Israel, and they can turn this region into a hotspot.”

Over the past two years alone, Israeli border guards have intercepted 1,600 weaponsdestined for the occupied Palestinian territories, all originating from Jordan. Despite the strenuous efforts of both Israeli and Jordanian security forces to fortify their borders, the weapons continued to flow, leaving them grappling with unanswered questions: Where were these weapons originating from? Who were the intended recipients? What were they to be used for? And how much did they cost?

Israeli security and military services are aware that some of the weapons entering the West Bank end up in the hands of clans or organized criminal gangs among Palestinians with Israeli citizenship. However, most concerning are the weapons that end up in the arsenal of the resistance factions.

This has prompted the Israeli army to carry out numerous recent military operations in the Aqabat Jabr camp in the east of the West Bank, to arrest wanted persons, confiscate weapons, and dismantle bomb-making laboratories and resistance infrastructure.

In a report by Arab News last year, Ismat Mansour, a writer on Israeli affairs, claimed that the smuggled weapons mostly go to families for use in internal conflicts, in addition to the armed militias of some sections of the Fatah movement in preparation for the time when Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas finally steps down:

“These weapons are mostly light and the Palestinians do not use them in their attacks against the Israelis as they use locally manufactured weapons such as ‘Carlo’ and ‘M16’ rifles coming from Israel through weapons dealers.”

Escalating Palestinian operations in the West Bank

In past years, arms smuggling to the occupied West Bank has increased from Iraq and Syria via Jordan, as well as across the Lebanese borders and from the occupied Palestinian territories.

According to the Israeli Walla! news site: “The Syrian border is witnessing a concentration of smuggling of Soviet weapons such as the Kalashnikov, while the Jordanian border is being used to smuggle western and American weapons. This phenomenon is growing. Ronen Calvon, commander of the [Israeli] defense unit in the southern region, warned that we are facing a strategic threat that requires joint action from all the state’s security and military agencies.”

“The huge stockpile of firearms in Judea and Samaria is intolerable.” This is how Lilac Shoval, a military correspondent for the Israel Hayom newspaper, described the situation in the occupied West Bank. Because some of these weapons are used to launch attacks against settlers and occupation soldiers, the Israeli army is making plans to “clean up” some cities and camps in the northern West Bank.

The Kan radio station also quoted “senior officials in the army and the Shin Bet as saying that there is no choice. The army is about to carry out a large-scale operation in the northern West Bank.”

“Despite the army’s intelligence activity and the increase in arrests and assassinations, the pace of Palestinian operations in the northern West Bank continues to increase,” said Elior Halevy, military affairs analyst for Kan.

Evolving resistance tactics 

The Israelis are aware that significant changes have taken place in the West Bank with far-reaching implications. Palestinian Authority (PA) control over cities and camps has weakened, and the economic situation has deteriorated, while the control of the Zionist religious right over the Israeli government, and the number of settlers, who have become more aggressive, have increased.

Facing this grim reality, throwing stones or Molotov cocktails is no longer an ideal resistance tactic, and knives are no longer the main tool for carrying out operations against the occupation. This new Palestinian generation has moved on to acquiring and using weapons despite their exorbitant prices.

The use of firearms to carry out attacks against the occupation soldiers and illegal settlers has impacted the army’s performance. Almost every raid against any of the West Bank cities is now accompanied by an armed clash with the resistance fighters in response.

According to figures from the Shin Bet, 2022 witnessed an increase in the number of attacks compared to 2021. Despite Operation Breakwater, which was carried out by the army and the Shin Bet security service last year to thwart resistance attacks, Elisha Ben Kimon indicated in the Yedioth Ahronothnewspaper that “1,570 operations took place in the West Bank in 2021, in which 18 settlers were killed and 196 others injured, compared to 1933 attacks in 2022, which killed 29 soldiers and settlers and wounded about 128 others.”

The increase in Israeli casualties is due to the development of the type of weapons used: from stabbing with knives and run-over operations with cars during the “knives intifada” in 2015, to automatic weapons today.

Rising prices 

Yedioth Ahronoth reported late last year that the Israeli security services do not have accurate information about the number of rifles and weapons in the West Bank. It added that years of “calm and economic privileges” had allowed a large number of Palestinians from various regions of the West Bank to obtain personal weapons, including pistols, M16 and Kalashnikov rifles, and even Israeli-made Tavor rifles.

It pointed out that most of the “weapons, with the exception of the northern regions of the West Bank, Nablus, and Jenin, are not directed against Israelis and settlers at present, and are used in local disputes.”

The Israeli army’s measures to control arms smuggling have led to a massive increase in prices compared to those in neighboring countries. The price of the original M4 rifle is about $30,000 (between $4,500 and $6,000 in Lebanon), and the Kalashnikov assault rifle (AK47) is $20,000 (less than $750 in Lebanon).

An old M16 rifle sells for about $16,000 (between $1,200 and $1,600 in Lebanon), and the fourth and fifth generations of Glock pistols cost $15,000 (roughly $2,000 in the US and Europe), while the demand for the locally-manufactured Carlo rifle is less due to its many faults.

The high profits generated by this trade (upwards of 700 percent) leads to an increase in attempts to smuggle weapons. However, it is important to note that the majority of arms dealers buy weapons from the Israeli black market through organized theft of weapons and ammunition from army bases.

Arming the Resistance 

However, smuggling weapons to the West Bank and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories is not a purely commercial affair. In 2014, the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ali Khamenei, called for the arming of the West Bank “as the only solution to confront this brutal entity,” suggesting a strong will to transfer weapons to the West Bank.

In this context, the northern front with Lebanon is witnessing large-scale arms transfers, in terms of quantity or high quality, in preparation for the “zero hour.” According to a report last year by Israeli Channel 12, Israeli police concluded that Hezbollah had decided, after the Dignity Strike in the occupied territories in 2021, to flood Israel with light weapons, such as pistols and machine guns, in preparation for the moment of confrontation.

The channel revealed that the anti-terrorism unit of the Israeli police, Yamar, has since monitored an increase in attempts to smuggle weapons from Jordan and Lebanon. Yaron Ben Yishai of the intelligence department in the Yamar unit in the Northern Command said, “Hezbollah directs 95 percent of the smuggling operations through Lebanon.”

Where there’s a will, there’s a way 

Likewise, the means of smuggling weapons have become increasingly sophisticated. Last February, Jordanian border guards shot down a drone that tried to cross the border with Syria, in which an “M4 rifle and 4 bombs were found. The drone was booby-trapped to explode if caught.”

Although Israel has failed to stop the smuggling of arms to the resistance factions in the West Bank, it has succeeded in restricting transportation routes, which in turn has caused a significant increase in prices.

This led to the adoption of different methods, such as the provision of finances to buy weapons domestically from arms dealers. This is the Israeli explanation for the large amount of gold confiscated from the Jordanian MP.

Similarly, the PA authorities arrested Musab Shtayyeh in Nablus in September 2022 on charges of transferring funds from Hamas to the Lions’ Den resistance group. At the beginning of this month, the Israeli army arrested a person under the pretext of transferring money from Hamas to resistance fighters in Jenin.

As a result, Israel has tightened its siege on the West Bank in a desperate attempt to stifle the growth of military capabilities within the resistance factions. However, these factions, determined and resourceful, continue to evolve in their tactics to ensure a steady supply of weapons.

The prevailing trajectory seems to be leading Israel towards a pivotal crossroads, one that may necessitate a “final solution” in the form of a large-scale military campaign in the northern West Bank. Such a drastic move would undoubtedly carry severe consequences for the Israeli army, raising the stakes to an alarming level, as the occupation state now faces threats from multiple fronts.

The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of The Cradle.


Senjata perlawanan Tepi Barat: Dari mana asalnya?

Pada tanggal 22 April, otoritas pendudukan Israel menangkap anggota parlemen Yordania Imad al-Adwan di persimpangan Jembatan Allenby. Tapi ini bukan penangkapan biasa. Adwan tertangkap mencoba menyelundupkan cache menakjubkan lebih dari 200 senjata dan kantong emas ke Tepi Barat Palestina yang diduduki.

Tindakan berani Adwan telah menyalakan kembali ketakutan Israel yang telah lama dipegang bahwa faksi perlawanan Palestina di Tepi Barat dapat memperoleh persenjataan senjata api yang signifikan dari seberang perbatasan dengan Yordania. Namun gagasan tentang usaha berani seperti itu tidak masuk akal dan penuh dengan risiko.

Perlawanan lebih cenderung hanya membeli senjata pasar gelap dari sumber-sumber di Palestina (Israel) yang diduduki 1948-, terutama mengingat aksesnya yang lebih besar ke dana dari para pendukung di Poros Perlawanan yang dipimpin Iran-. Kepemimpinan Iran sebelumnya telah bersumpah untuk mempersenjatai faksi perlawanan Tepi Barat, seperti yang telah mereka lakukan untuk rekan-rekan mereka yang berbasis di Gaza-.

MP Adwan, yang merupakan anggota komite Palestina parlemen Yordania dan sebelumnya telah berbicara menentang agresi rutin Israel terhadap Palestina dan Masjid Al-Aqsa, tidak asing dengan intelijen Israel.

Shin Bet mengatakan bahwa sejak Februari 2022, Adwan telah menggunakan paspor diplomatiknya 12 kali untuk menyelundupkan berbagai barang, termasuk "burung, merpati, rokok elektronik dan emas," dan pada tahun 2023, telah mulai menyelundupkan senjata "karena keserakahan dan menerima sejumlah besar uang."

Senjata lokal vs. senjata selundupan

Seorang peneliti di Institut Hubungan Masyarakat Yerusalem pensiunan Jenderal Yossi Kuperwasser, mengkonfirmasi bahwa ini bukan pertama kalinya Adwan mentransfer senjata ke Tepi Barat yang diduduki.

Kuperwasser mengisyaratkan bahwa penangkapan Adwan didasarkan pada informasi intelijen dari pihak Yordania dan bahwa otoritas Yordania tidak menangkapnya, untuk menghindari membangkitkan kemarahan klan Adwan, yang sejak itu memujinya sebagai "patriot pemberani."

Menurut jurnalis Yedioth Ahronoth Jackie Khoji, anggota klan ini tersebar di "perbatasan dengan Israel, dan mereka dapat mengubah wilayah ini menjadi hotspot."

Selama dua tahun terakhir saja, penjaga perbatasan Israel telah mencegat 1.600 senjata yang ditakdirkan untuk wilayah Palestina yang diduduki, semuanya berasal dari Yordania. Terlepas dari upaya keras pasukan keamanan Israel dan Yordania untuk membentengi perbatasan mereka, senjata terus mengalir, membuat mereka bergulat dengan pertanyaan yang belum terjawab: Dari mana senjata-senjata ini berasal? Siapa penerima yang dituju? Untuk apa mereka digunakan? Dan berapa harganya?

Dinas keamanan dan militer Israel sadar bahwa beberapa senjata yang memasuki Tepi Barat berakhir di tangan klan atau geng kriminal terorganisir di antara orang-orang Palestina dengan kewarganegaraan Israel. Namun, yang paling memprihatinkan adalah senjata yang berakhir di gudang faksi perlawanan.

Hal ini telah mendorong tentara Israel untuk melakukan banyak operasi militer baru-baru ini di kamp Aqabat Jabr di timur Tepi Barat, untuk menangkap orang-orang yang dicari, menyita senjata, dan membongkar laboratorium pembuatan bom dan infrastruktur perlawanan.

Dalam sebuah laporan oleh Arab News tahun lalu, Ismat Mansour, seorang penulis tentang urusan Israel, mengklaim bahwa senjata yang diselundupkan sebagian besar pergi ke keluarga untuk digunakan dalam konflik internal, selain milisi bersenjata dari beberapa bagian gerakan Fatah dalam persiapan untuk saat ketika Presiden Palestina Mahmoud Abbas akhirnya mundur:

"Senjata ini sebagian besar ringan dan Palestina tidak menggunakannya dalam serangan mereka terhadap Israel karena mereka menggunakan senjata buatan lokal seperti senapan 'Carlo' dan 'M16' yang datang dari Israel melalui pedagang senjata."

Meningkatkan operasi Palestina di Tepi Barat

Dalam beberapa tahun terakhir, penyelundupan senjata ke Tepi Barat yang diduduki telah meningkat dari Irak dan Suriah melalui Yordania, serta melintasi perbatasan Lebanon dan dari wilayah Palestina yang diduduki.

Menurut Walla Israel! Situs berita: “Perbatasan Suriah menyaksikan konsentrasi penyelundupan senjata Soviet seperti Kalashnikov, sementara perbatasan Yordania digunakan untuk menyelundupkan senjata barat dan Amerika. Fenomena ini berkembang. Ronen Calvon, komandan unit pertahanan [Israel] di wilayah selatan, memperingatkan bahwa kita menghadapi ancaman strategis yang membutuhkan tindakan bersama dari semua lembaga keamanan dan militer negara.”

"Timbunan besar senjata api di Yudea dan Samaria tidak dapat ditoleransi." Beginilah cara Lilac Shoval, seorang koresponden militer untuk surat kabar Israel Hayom, menggambarkan situasi di Tepi Barat yang diduduki. Karena beberapa senjata ini digunakan untuk meluncurkan serangan terhadap pemukim dan tentara pendudukan, tentara Israel membuat rencana untuk "membersihkan" beberapa kota dan kamp di Tepi Barat utara.

Stasiun radio Kan juga mengutip “pejabat senior di ketentaraian dan Shin Bet yang mengatakan bahwa tidak ada pilihan. Tentara akan melakukan operasi skala besar di Tepi Barat utara.”

"Terlepas dari aktivitas intelijen tentara dan peningkatan penangkapan dan pembunuhan, laju operasi Palestina di Tepi Barat utara terus meningkat," kata Elior Halevy, analis urusan militer untuk Kan.

Taktik perlawanan yang berkembang

Israel menyadari bahwa perubahan signifikan telah terjadi di Tepi Barat dengan implikasi yang luas. Kontrol Otoritas Palestina (PA) atas kota dan kamp telah melemah, dan situasi ekonomi telah memburuk, sementara kontrol hak agama Zionis atas pemerintah Israel, dan jumlah pemukim, yang menjadi lebih agresif, telah meningkat.

Menghadapi kenyataan suram ini, melempar batu atau koktail Molotov bukan lagi taktik perlawanan yang ideal, dan pisau bukan lagi alat utama untuk melakukan operasi melawan pendudukan. Generasi Palestina baru ini telah beralih ke memperoleh dan menggunakan senjata meskipun harganya selangit.

Penggunaan senjata api untuk melakukan serangan terhadap tentara pendudukan dan pemukim ilegal telah berdampak pada kinerja tentara. Hampir setiap serangan terhadap kota-kota Tepi Barat mana pun sekarang disertai dengan bentrokan bersenjata dengan para pejuang perlawanan sebagai tanggapan.

Menurut angka dari Shin Bet, 2022 menyaksikan peningkatan jumlah serangan dibandingkan 2021. Meskipun Operasi Pemecah Gelombang, yang dilakukan oleh tentara dan dinas keamanan Shin Bet tahun lalu untuk menggagalkan serangan perlawanan, Elisha Ben Kimon mengindikasikan dalam surat kabar Yedioth Ahronoth bahwa "1.570 operasi terjadi di Tepi Barat pada tahun 2021, di mana 18 pemukim tewas dan 196 lainnya terluka, dibandingkan dengan serangan 1933 pada tahun 2022, yang menewaskan 29 tentara

Peningkatan korban Israel disebabkan oleh pengembangan jenis senjata yang digunakan: mulai dari penusukan dengan pisau dan operasi run-over dengan mobil selama "intifada pisau" pada tahun 2015, hingga senjata otomatis hari ini.

Kenaikan harga

Yedioth Ahronoth melaporkan akhir tahun lalu bahwa dinas keamanan Israel tidak memiliki informasi yang akurat tentang jumlah senapan dan senjata di Tepi Barat. Itu menambahkan bahwa tahun-tahun "keistimewaan ekonomi dan ekonomi telah memungkinkan sejumlah besar orang Palestina dari berbagai wilayah Tepi Barat untuk mendapatkan senjata pribadi, termasuk pistol, senapan M16 dan Kalashnikov, dan bahkan senapan Tavor buatan Israel.

Itu menunjukkan bahwa sebagian besar "senjata, dengan pengecualian wilayah utara Tepi Barat, Nablus, dan Jenin, tidak diarahkan terhadap orang Israel dan pemukim saat ini, dan digunakan dalam perselisihan lokal."

Langkah-langkah tentara Israel untuk mengendalikan penyelundupan senjata telah menyebabkan kenaikan harga yang besar dibandingkan dengan yang ada di negara tetangga. Harga senapan M4 asli adalah sekitar $30.000 (antara $4.500 dan $6.000 di Lebanon), dan senapan serbu Kalashnikov (AK47) adalah $20.000 (kurang dari $750 di Lebanon).

Senapan M16 tua dijual sekitar $16.000 (antara $1.200 dan $1.600 di Lebanon), dan pistol Glock generasi keempat dan kelima berharga $15.000 (kira-kira $2.000 di AS dan Eropa), sementara permintaan untuk senapan Carlo yang diproduksi secara lokal lebih murah karena banyak kesalahannya.

Keuntungan tinggi yang dihasilkan oleh perdagangan ini (lebih dari 700 persen) menyebabkan peningkatan upaya penyelundupan senjata. Namun, penting untuk dicatat bahwa mayoritas pedagang senjata membeli senjata dari pasar gelap Israel melalui pencurian senjata dan amunisi yang terorganisir dari pangkalan militer.

Mempersenjatai Perlawanan

Namun, penyelundupan senjata ke Tepi Barat dan wilayah Palestina lainnya bukanlah urusan komersial murni. Pada tahun 2014, pemimpin Republik Islam Iran, Ali Khamenei, menyerukan mempersenjatai Tepi Barat "sebagai satu-satunya solusi untuk menghadapi entitas brutal ini," menyarankan kemauan yang kuat untuk mentransfer senjata ke Tepi Barat.

Dalam konteks ini, front utara dengan Lebanon menyaksikan transfer senjata skala besar, dalam hal kuantitas atau kualitas tinggi, dalam persiapan untuk "nol jam." Menurut laporan tahun lalu oleh Saluran 12 Israel, polisi Israel menyimpulkan bahwa Hizbullah telah memutuskan, setelah Serangan Martabat di wilayah pendudukan pada tahun 2021, untuk membanjiri Israel dengan senjata ringan, seperti pistol dan senapan mesin, dalam persiapan untuk saat konfrontasi.

Saluran tersebut mengungkapkan bahwa unit anti-terorisme polisi Israel, Yamar, sejak itu memantau peningkatan upaya penyelundupan senjata dari Yordania dan Lebanon. Yaron Ben Yishai dari departemen intelijen di unit Yamar di Komando Utara mengatakan, "Hizbullah mengarahkan 95 persen operasi penyelundupan melalui Lebanon."

Dimana ada kemauan, ada jalan

Demikian juga, sarana penyelundupan senjata menjadi semakin canggih. Februari lalu, penjaga perbatasan Yordania menembak jatuh sebuah pesawat tak berawak yang mencoba menyeberangi perbatasan dengan Suriah, di mana sebuah "S senapan M4 dan 4 bom ditemukan. Drone…





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