Dahiya doctrine
Encyclopedia
The Dahiya doctrine is a military strategy put forth by the Israeli general Gadi Eizenkot
that pertains to asymmetric warfare
in an urban setting, in which the army deliberately targets civilian infrastructure, as a means of inducing suffering for the civilian population, thereby establishing deterrence. The doctrine is named after a Hizbullah stronghold in Beirut with large apartment buildings which were flattened by the Israel Defense Forces
(IDF) during the 2006 Lebanon War. Israel has been accused of implementing the strategy during Operation Cast Lead.
, commander of the IDF's northern front, in October 2008. He said that what happened in the Dahiya
(also transliterated as Dahiyeh and Dahieh) quarter of Beirut in 2006 would, "happen in every village from which shots were fired in the direction of Israel. We will wield disproportionate power against [them] and cause immense damage and destruction. From our perspective, these are military bases. [...] This isn't a suggestion. Its a plan that has already been authorized. [...] Harming the population is the only means of restraining Nasrallah."
Noting that Dahiya was the Shiite quarter in Beirut that was razed by the Israeli Air Force
during the Second Lebanon War, Israeli journalist Yaron London
wrote in 2008 that the doctrine, "will become entrenched in our security discourse."
as follows: "The military approach expressed in the Dahiye Doctrine deals with asymmetrical combat against an enemy that is not a regular army and is embedded within civilian population; its objective is to avoid a protracted guerilla war. According to this approach Israel has to employ tremendous force disproportionate to the magnitude of the enemy’s actions." The report further argues that the doctrine was fully implemented during Operation Cast Lead.
Richard Falk wrote that under the doctrine, "the civilian infrastructure of adversaries such as Hamas or Hezbollah are treated as permissible military targets, which is not only an overt violation of the most elementary norms of the law of war and of universal morality, but an avowal of a doctrine of violence that needs to be called by its proper name: state terrorism."
Gadi Eizenkot
Aluf Gadi Eizenkot is a Major-General in the Israel Defense Forces.After joining the IDF Eizenkot was assigned to the Golani Brigade, which he himself would eventually command from 1997-8. During that time he received a B.A...
that pertains to asymmetric warfare
Asymmetric warfare
Asymmetric warfare is war between belligerents whose relative military power differs significantly, or whose strategy or tactics differ significantly....
in an urban setting, in which the army deliberately targets civilian infrastructure, as a means of inducing suffering for the civilian population, thereby establishing deterrence. The doctrine is named after a Hizbullah stronghold in Beirut with large apartment buildings which were flattened 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...
(IDF) during the 2006 Lebanon War. Israel has been accused of implementing the strategy during Operation Cast Lead.
2006 Lebanon War
The first public announcement of the doctrine was made by General Gadi EizenkotGadi Eizenkot
Aluf Gadi Eizenkot is a Major-General in the Israel Defense Forces.After joining the IDF Eizenkot was assigned to the Golani Brigade, which he himself would eventually command from 1997-8. During that time he received a B.A...
, commander of the IDF's northern front, in October 2008. He said that what happened in the Dahiya
Dahieh
Dahieh -2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict:On July 13, 2006, Israeli jets dropped leaflets over Dahieh warning residents to evacuate the area before carpet-bombing the neighborhood to rubble. However, not everyone managed to flee the town, and those who did escape became refugees within the mainland...
(also transliterated as Dahiyeh and Dahieh) quarter of Beirut in 2006 would, "happen in every village from which shots were fired in the direction of Israel. We will wield disproportionate power against [them] and cause immense damage and destruction. From our perspective, these are military bases. [...] This isn't a suggestion. Its a plan that has already been authorized. [...] Harming the population is the only means of restraining Nasrallah."
Noting that Dahiya was the Shiite quarter in Beirut that was razed by the Israeli Air Force
Israeli Air Force
The Israeli Air Force is the air force of the State of Israel and the aerial arm of the Israel Defense Forces. It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence...
during the Second Lebanon War, Israeli journalist Yaron London
Yaron London
-Biography:London was born in Tel Aviv in 1940 to actor Bezalel London .London studied in the Herzliya Hebrew High School and later left it for the agricultural boarding school HaKfar HaYarok. In 1961, after his service in the IDF, he moved to Jerusalem to study graphics at Bezalel Academy of Art...
wrote in 2008 that the doctrine, "will become entrenched in our security discourse."
Operation Cast Lead
Whether by design or default, Israel at least partially implemented such a strategy during Operation Cast Lead. The 2009 Goldstone Report makes several references to the Dahiya doctrine, calling it a concept which requires the application of "widespread destruction as a means of deterrence" and which involves "the application of disproportionate force and the causing of great damage and destruction to civilian property and infrastructure, and suffering to civilian populations." The Fact Finding Mission which submitted the Report concluded that the doctrine had been put into practice during the conflict.Criticism
The doctrine is defined in a 2009 report by the Public Committee Against Torture in IsraelPublic Committee Against Torture in Israel
The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel is an Israeli human rights organisation specifically dedicated to combating torture, and cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment and punishment...
as follows: "The military approach expressed in the Dahiye Doctrine deals with asymmetrical combat against an enemy that is not a regular army and is embedded within civilian population; its objective is to avoid a protracted guerilla war. According to this approach Israel has to employ tremendous force disproportionate to the magnitude of the enemy’s actions." The report further argues that the doctrine was fully implemented during Operation Cast Lead.
Richard Falk wrote that under the doctrine, "the civilian infrastructure of adversaries such as Hamas or Hezbollah are treated as permissible military targets, which is not only an overt violation of the most elementary norms of the law of war and of universal morality, but an avowal of a doctrine of violence that needs to be called by its proper name: state terrorism."
See also
- Counter-terrorismCounter-terrorismCounter-terrorism is the practices, tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, militaries, police departments and corporations adopt to prevent or in response to terrorist threats and/or acts, both real and imputed.The tactic of terrorism is available to insurgents and governments...
- Counter-insurgencyCounter-insurgencyA counter-insurgency or counterinsurgency involves actions taken by the recognized government of a nation to contain or quell an insurgency taken up against it...
- State TerrorismState terrorismState terrorism may refer to acts of terrorism conducted by a state against a foreign state or people. It can also refer to acts of violence by a state against its own people.-Definition:...
- Fourth generation warfareFourth generation warfareFourth generation warfare is conflict characterized by a blurring of the lines between war and politics, soldier and civilian.The term was first used in 1989 by a team of United States analysts, including William S. Lind, to describe warfare's return to a decentralized form...
- International law and the Arab-Israeli conflictInternational law and the Arab-Israeli conflictThere is a broad international consensus that the actions of the nations involved in the Arab-Israeli conflict violate prohibitions contained in international law. However, this legality is disputed by some of the nations involved...
External links
- Satellite Identification of Damage in Beirut, Lebanon — satellite photographs of Dahiya district before and after the war