Rather than obsess about how to convince the world that its actions are justified, perhaps Israel should accept defeat in the information battle in order to win the strategic war.

By Eric Navarro, Middle East Forum

When Hamas executed six Israeli hostages on August 29 or 30, 2024, the world reacted with outrage. Unfortunately, many directed their anger more at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and less at the Hamas terrorists who perpetrated the crime.

Even inside Israel, protestors criticized Netanyahu for refusing a ceasefire deal that they said would have saved hostage lives.

Hamas has de-legitimized Israel’s military actions post-October 7, 2023. Western journalists have accepted its narratives at face value and both they and diplomats treat “Gaza Ministry of Health” numbers at face value, never mind that Hamas arbitrarily generates these numbers.

Hamas also skillfully plants images and commits war crimes by hiding its forces within civilian populations and institutions.

Even as the Israel Defense Forces successfully eliminated key Hamas leadership and destroyed Hamas tunnels in Gaza, not only global public opinion but also Western allies demanded that Israel cease its operations, regardless of the impact to its military and strategic objectives.

It may be morally inverse, but the fact that Israel, rather than Hamas, is the focus of global anger is proof that Israel has lost the information war.

Rather than obsess about how to convince the world that its actions are justified, perhaps Israel should accept defeat in the information battle in order to win the strategic war.

True, such a recommendation contradicts current doctrine. Strategists, diplomats, and military commanders learn that information and influence campaigns are crucial components of coherent strategy.

This assumes goodwill and a propensity toward fairness among outside observers. Adversaries understand this and seek advantage from Israel’s sensitivity to criticism.

In the current Gaza war, the physical destruction of Hamas must be the strategic imperative. Jerusalem should jettison any action that limits Israel’s ability to achieve this objective.

When the Israel Defense Forces caved to international pressure to pause operations in Rafah based on distorted narratives about Gaza civilian casualties, for example, they lost the initiative, affirmed Hamas narratives, and allowed Hamas to regroup.

If the Israel Defense Forces had remained focused on the strategic objectives, they might have not only achieved strategic success but also ended Hamas’s information campaign by more quickly ending the conflict, rather than drawing it out to Hamas’s propaganda advantage.

Going forward, then, Israel should allow the following tenets to shape its current and future campaigns:

First, reduce or eliminate Hamas’s ability to transmit from inside the combat zone through either hamming or destruction of communication infrastructure.

Second, block access of Western journalists to any active battlefield. There is no protected right to enter a combat zone. Ignore howls of protest and respond either with silence or simple statements explaining the Israeli actions.

Third, Israel’s leadership no longer should try to counter Hamas messaging. Instead, all future public statements will simply report facts from the ground, such as advances and casualties, with the aim to rob Hamas and its allies of informational ammunition they can use to undermine Israeli and Western resolve.

The post Israel has lost the info war — So what? appeared first on World Israel News.

Police anti-terror and intelligence branch officers carried out raids in Istanbul and the West Coast city of Izmir.

By The Associated Press

Turkish police arrested seven people on Friday on suspicion of selling information to the Israeli intelligence service Mossad, the state-run Anadolu news agency said.

The suspects, who allegedly passed details to Mossad via private detectives, were detained in a joint operation with Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization, or MIT.

Acting on warrants issued by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, police anti-terror and intelligence branch officers carried out raids in Istanbul and the west coast city of Izmir, Anadolu reported.

Two other suspects in the investigation are thought to have been detained earlier.

Last month, 34 people were detained by Turkish police on suspicion of spying for Israel. They were accused of planning to carry out activities that included reconnaissance and “pursuing, assaulting and kidnapping” foreign nationals living in Turkey.

At the time, Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said most of the suspects were charged with committing “political or military espionage” on behalf of Israeli intelligence.

Mossad is said to have recruited Palestinians and Syrian nationals in Turkey as part of an operation against foreigners living in Turkey.

Following the Jan. 2 arrests, Anadolu cited a prosecution document as saying the operation targeted “Palestinian nationals and their families … within the scope of the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

The head of Israel’s domestic Shin Bet security agency said in December that his organization was prepared to target Hamas anywhere, including in Lebanon, Turkey and Qatar.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Israel of “serious consequences” if Israel pressed ahead with its threat to attack Hamas officials on Turkish soil.

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