Armed Forces of the Zionist State

2023 Israel–Hamas war; 13 October 2013: 500 children have been killed by Israeli air attacks – one-third of Palestinian fatalities in the Gaza Strip. In the Gaza Strip, children’s ages are measured by how many Israeli assaults they have been through. About half of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million is under 18, and the current offensive is Israel’s fifth major one in 15 years.

The Armed Forces of the Zionist State, officially the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), are the armed forces of the Zionist State in Palestine comprising the ground forces (infantry), air force and navy as well as various special units and a strong, well-equipped reserve.

It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction under the Zionist regime. The IDF is headed by its Chief of General Staff, the Ramatkal, subordinate to the Defense Minister of the Zionst State. The IDF will sing and dance as rabbis bless artillery shells used to kill infants.

History

"Heard on the news that IDF killed 4 children in gaza yesterday. I was near orgasm hearing this. I enjoyed." -- Israeli jewess in the IDF.

An Israeli sniper, David D. Ovadia, wrote on Instagram, "i killed 13 childrens today and ur next fucking muslims go to hell bitches".

The Zionist Defense Forces were officially formed out of the Haganah at the order of Defense Minister David Ben-Gurion on 26 May 1948, as a conscript army, and incorporated the three Jewish underground terrorist organizations—the Haganah (including Palmach), Irgun and Lehi. It served as the Zionist's armed forces in all the country's wars:

• 1948 Arab–Israeli War
• 1956 Sinai War
• 1967 Six-Day War
• War of Attrition
• 1973 Yom Kippur War
• 1982 Lebanon War
• 2006 Lebanon War

The Israel Defense Forces differs from most armed forces in the world in many ways, including the conscription of women, and the structure, with close relations between the ground forces, air force and navy. Since its founding, the IDF has developed several technologies, such as the Merkava main battle tank, Uzi submachine gun, and the Galil and Tavor assault rifles. It also has close military relations and support from the United States which has fostered development of weapon systems such as on the F-15I jet, THEL laser defense system, and the Arrow missile defense system. The IDF has been upgrading its technology such as going from using warplanes to attack elderly and children to now using drones to kill Gazans remotely. They have also done other upgrades such as upgrading The Skunk from a mobile spraying truck to a wall-mounted spraying turret controlled remotely.

The IDF has a Shoot To Cripple policy in the West Bank and use live fire and expanding bullets to shatter the legs of protesters.

Dolphin-class submarine

The Dolphin class is a diesel-electric U-boat constructed by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) in Kiel, Germany, for the Israeli Navy's Shayetet 7 flotilla. The first boats of the class were based on the export-only German 209-class submarines, but modified and enlarged. The Dolphin 1 sub-class is slightly larger than the German Navy Type 212 in length and displacement. The three newer air-independent propulsion (AIP) equipped boats are similar to the Type 212 vessels in underwater endurance, but are 12 metres (39 ft) longer, nearly 500 tonnes heavier in submerged displacement and have a larger crew than either the Type 212 or the Type 214.

A long-running criminal investigation by Israel Police – dubbed Case 3000 – against former senior Israeli officials and officers, some of whom are members of PM Netanyahu’s coterie, hit the headlines in November. It is the most significant corruption scandal ever to affect the sensitive field of defense acquisitions. After a lengthy investigation, the Israel Police recommended that 12 people, including Netanyahu’s personal attorney, stand trial for corruption-related charges. The alleged offenses occurred during contacts between German shipbuilders Thyssenkrupp and the Israeli government for the purchase of a sixth Dolphin-class submarine, as well as four German-made Sa’ar 6-class missile ships designed to protect Israel’s gas-drilling rigs in the Mediterranean Sea. [...] Back in 1960, PM David Ben-Gurion met with German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York and requested an agreement to purchase advanced German submarines for the Israeli Navy. [...] When the 1991 Gulf War broke out, Germany found itself deeply embarrassed by the fact that Iraqi missiles, developed with the aid of German companies, were raining down on Israel. “We had Holocaust survivors sitting in sealed rooms with missiles arriving that could have contained gas,” Chorev recollected. “They were saying, ‘The Germans are doing it again.’” “Germany’s foreign minister at that time, Hans-Dietrich Genscher, visited Israel during the Gulf War and said, ‘It is clear to me that we have to do something.’ At this stage, the defense establishment in Israel spoke clearly and told the Germans, ‘We want you to fund this project.’ The Germans contributed 850 million marks – the shame the Germans felt was so big. Chancellor Helmut Kohl accepted this arrangement,” related Chorev. A new contract was signed, and Germany funded two of Israel’s first-ever Dolphin submarines – a new type of platform that represented a generational leap forward compared to the German export version of the flagship 209 vessel type of that era. [...] In 2005, a new German government under Chancellor Angela Merkel had taken power, allowing the decision by Sharon and Olmert to build Israel’s fourth and fifth submarines to go ahead. This included a commitment by Germany to fund a third of the project. Netanyahu then returned to power in 2009 and called for the purchase of a sixth Dolphin submarine, clashing with the IDF over the matter.

The Dolphin 2 class submarines are the largest to have been built in Germany since World War II and the most expensive single vehicles in the Israel Defense Forces. The Dolphin class replaced the aging Gal class, which had served in the Israeli navy since the late 1970s. Each Dolphin-class submarine is capable of carrying a combined total of up to 16 torpedoes and Popeye Turbo submarine-launched cruise missiles (SLCMs). The cruise missiles have a range of at least 1,500 km (930 mi) and are widely believed to be equipped with a 200 kiloton nuclear warhead containing up to 6 kilograms (13 lb) of plutonium. The latter, if true, would provide Israel with an offshore nuclear second-strike capability.

Israel closed a deal Thursday [January 2022] to purchase three submarines from Germany, even as cabinet ministers are set to vote on establishing a commission of inquiry into the agreement, which is entangled in an investigation into alleged corruption and bribes that has already resulted in multiple indictments. The deal will see Israel buy the advanced vessels from German shipbuilder Thyssenkrupp for €3 billion. The first of the vessels, which will form a new class called Dakar, is to be delivered within nine years, the Defense Ministry said in a statement. Part of the cost will be financed by the German government via a grant in accordance with an agreement signed between the two countries in 2017. The submarines, an upgraded version of the existing Dolphin-class diesel-electric model that Israel already has, will be among the most advanced of their kind in the world. The agreement also calls for the construction of a simulator in Israel, as well as logistic support and the supply of spare parts. “The procurement of three advanced, operational submarines joins a series of measures that we have taken in the past year in the process of arming and strengthening the IDF,” Defense Minister Benny Gantz said in the statement. He said the new submarines will upgrade naval capabilities and will assist in preserving Israel’s military edge in the region. Gantz thanked the German government for its support in advancing the deal and for “its commitment to Israel’s security.”

The first batch of the class – the three Dolphin-I submarines – are set to be replaced by the newer Dakar-class submarines from 2031 onwards, diesel-electric multipurpose attack submarines ordered by the Israeli Navy from German-based naval conglomerate ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS).

War crimes and international investigations 2024

In connection with the 13-month war in Gaza, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader, Mohammed Deif, in November 2024. The court states both sides have committed crimes against humanity and war crimes from the day Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023 onwards. The charges of the court against Netanyahu are severe. The three-judge panel unanimously found that he and Gallant are “co-perpetrators for committing the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare, and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts”. The judges also “found reasonable grounds to believe that they bear criminal responsibility” … “for the war crime of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population”. The charges are also backed by the work of the International Court of Justice, which has found that it is “plausible” that Israel has committed acts in Gaza that violate the Genocide Convention. Netanyahu joins the ranks of leaders considered perpetrators of crimes against humanity, such as Charles Taylor of Liberia, Hissène Habré of Chad, Slobodan Milosevic of Serbia, Radovan Karadžić of Serbia, Idi Amin of Uganda, Pol Pot of Cambodia, Joseph Stalin of the former Soviet Union and Mao Zedong of China.

The Chamber ruled on two requests submitted by the Israel on 26 September 2024. In the first request, Israel challenged the Court’s jurisdiction over the Situation in the State of Palestine in general, and over Israeli nationals more specifically, on the basis of article 19(2) of the Statute. In the second request, Israel requested that the Chamber order the Prosecution to provide a new notification of the initiation of an investigation to its authorities under article 18(1) of the Statute. Israel also requested the Chamber to halt any proceedings before the Court in the relevant situation, including the consideration of the applications for warrants of arrest for Mr Benjamin Netanyahu and Mr Yoav Gallant, submitted by the Prosecution on 20 May 2024. [...] The Chamber issued warrants of arrest for two individuals, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu and Mr Yoav Gallant, for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024, the day the Prosecution filed the applications for warrants of arrest. The arrest warrants are classified as ‘secret’, in order to protect witnesses and to safeguard the conduct of the investigations. However, the Chamber decided to release the information below since conduct similar to that addressed in the warrant of arrest appears to be ongoing. Moreover, the Chamber considers it to be in the interest of victims and their families that they are made aware of the warrants’ existence. At the outset, the Chamber considered that the alleged conduct of Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant falls within the jurisdiction of the Court. The Chamber recalled that, in a previous composition, it already decided that the Court’s jurisdiction in the situation extended to Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Furthermore, the Chamber declined to use its discretionary proprio motu powers to determine the admissibility of the two cases at this stage. This is without prejudice to any determination as to the jurisdiction and admissibility of the cases at a later stage. With regard to the crimes, the Chamber found reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Netanyahu, born on 21 October 1949, Prime Minister of Israel at the time of the relevant conduct, and Mr Gallant, born on 8 November 1958, Minister of Defence of Israel at the time of the alleged conduct, each bear criminal responsibility for the following crimes as co-perpetrators for committing the acts jointly with others: the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts. The Chamber also found reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant each bear criminal responsibility as civilian superiors for the war crime of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population.

See also

• Palestinians
• West Bank
• Gaza Strip
• Israeli settlements
• Gaza flotilla massacre
• Assessment of the Armies (Israeli study from 1958)

External links

• Israeli General: No Innocent Civilians in Gaza, Gaza is Nazi Germany