Israel & intelligence (merged thread)

[davidbfpo]

Ronen Bergman's new book 'Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel’s Targeted Assassinations' is reviewed in WaPo, the thread title is the review's author's.

A taster:

But at what point does violence in the name of self-defense become an end in itself, so addictive to its practitioners, who in time become so adept at its use, that it undermines the very values it is meant to preserve? This question is the underlying theme of Ronen Bergman’s authoritative and exhaustive history of Israel’s targeted killings of its enemies, which he calls “the most robust streamlined assassination machine in history.”

Link:https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlo...4d_story.html?

Link to book:https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Kill-Fir...=ronen+bergman

Targeted assassinations of high value targets (HVT) has appeared on the Forum before, in two main threads, one on OBL and this one:HVTs/Political Assassination Whether this policy has actually benefited Israel is a moot point.

[davidbfpo]

Following the suspected assassination in Malaysia of a Hamas scientist Al-Jazeera has a story that links Ronen Bergman's book 'Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel’s Targeted Assassinations' to the murder.

Included here to show the scale of Israel's policy:

Bergman writes that, until 2000, which marked the beginning of the second Intifada in the occupied Palestinian territories, Israel had conducted more than 500 assassination operations that resulted in the deaths of more than 1,000 people, including the targets and bystanders. During the Second Intifada, Israel conducted 1,000 more operations, of which 168 succeeded, he writes in his book. Since then, Israel has carried out at least another 800 operations aimed at killing Hamas civilian and military leaders in the Gaza Strip and abroad.

Link:https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/...152144736.html

The article also refers to other matters, e.g. the policy machinery that supports such a policy in Israel and the USA.

[davidbfpo]

A short BBC News item that is self-explanatory and interesting to note Mr Segev was extradited form Equatorial Guinea, not Nigeria where he had been practicing. In the past Israel had good relations with Nigeria.
Link:https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-44520850

[davidbfpo]

An officially assisted Mossad burglary story in the NYT, although the documents may show that Iran had ceased nuclear weapon developments.
Link:https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/15/u...d-nuclear.html

[davidbfpo]

Cross-posted on the intelligence analysis thread. Note this is a free, online book (222 pgs) and not read here yet.

An offering from an ex-IDF officer via the ITIC and the recommendation is byMajor General Herzi Halevi, Chief of Defense Intelligence:

Itai Brun’s book deals with intelligence analysis – the process in which knowledge about the enemy and the environment is developed to serve decision-making in the fields of policy design, operational planning and force build up. Among other things, the book relates to the nature of intelligence analysis, the analysis methodology, the role of intelligence analysis in combat, and the impact of the information revolution on the analysis practice.

Having known him for many years, both as a commander and an intelligence officer, Itai’s skill at describing and explaining complex reality has always stood out. In his book, he provides up-to-date insight into the methodology and philosophy of intelligence analysis, an area hardly broached let alone written about. Brun presents his own experience and the best practices of the entire Israeli intelligence community, and he does so, as always, in a clear and concise manner.

Link:https://www.terrorism-info.org.il/en...matic-changes/

[AdamG]

Consider this part of the Palestinian terrorist “work accident” series.

A “work accident” is a commonly used term to refer to Palestinian terrorists who die by their own hand when explosives or explosive devices they are handling detonate prematurely. We have covered many such incidents.


Senior Hamas terrorist Imad al-Alami *accidentally* shoots himself in the head
Hamas explosives chief accidentally blows himself up
Palestinian rocket commander ‘accidentally’ blows himself up
Hamas terrorist killed when attack tunnel collapses on him
Gaza: Two PFLP terrorists killed when rocket they were firing exploded prematurely
Hamas Bomb Expert Blows Himself Up
We appear to have another member of the club, during Hamas-led attempts to breach the Gaza border.

These border attacks began last spring under the name of the “Great March of Return.” From the start, these were not mere protests, but military-style attempts to tear down the border fence, with minors often put out front for the cameras. Huge tire fires were set to create a smokescreen.

https://legalinsurrection.com/2018/1...d-prematurely/