ed note–an important piece to read thoroughly and the contents of which need to be plugged into the picture involving the now-dogmatic position held by far too many supporters of the Palestinian cause that the events of Oct. 7th ‘took Israel by surprise’ and that she didn’t know that this was coming.
Please pay close attention to those sections at the bottom dealing with Mistaarvim units operating in Gaza against Hamas.
Somewhere in the West Bank or in an Arab-Israeli town in Israel, a protest is unfolding. Protesters, their faces covered with checkered keffiyehs or balaclavas, chant against the Israeli army. They soon start throwing rocks at the Israeli troops. Their accents, mannerisms, and expressions are those of any Palestinian.
But these aren’t the run-of-the-mill Palestinian protesters. And when the protest begins to grow and others cluster in a mob to threaten the troops, their true purpose and identity become all too clear. In an instant, the ‘protesters’ spring into action, producing weapons, firing into the air, grabbing the protest’s ringleaders, and wrestling them to the ground for the army to arrest them.
The other protesters immediately scatter screaming ‘Musta’ribeen!’ They have just fallen prey to the Israeli elite special operations units known as Mista’arvim.
‘Think and Act Like a Palestinian’
Mista’arvim, or Musta’ribeen in Arabic, are the undercover counter-terrorism units assigned to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), Israeli Border Police, and Israeli police units. They are specifically identified, selected, trained, and operate among the Arab population. Their primary missions are performing intelligence gathering, law enforcement, hostage rescue, and counter-terrorism. Stealth and disguise are their primary means of accomplishing their mission.
The specially-trained Mista’arvim units are tasked with working undercover in the Arab areas, and their ability to assimilate in the Arab cities and towns is paramount.
Mista’arvim derives from the Arabic ‘Musta’arabi’, meaning ‘those who live among the Arabs.’ It refers to the Musta’arabi Jews, Arabic-speaking Jews who lived in the Middle East since the beginning of the Arab rule in the 7th century.
Mista’arvim’s Training
To serve in a Mista’arvim unit one has to undergo intensive training. This takes, generally, between 15-18 months at a minimum. The training is comprised of the following components:
An additional 10 weeks of advanced infantry training in the same base.
Two months of the unit’s basic skills training, which consists of advanced urban navigation and the beginning of counter-terrorism training.
And additional 16-20 weeks of the Mista’arvim course. Operatives must learn and master Arab traditions, language, and customs. Some of the dialects taught consist of Palestinian, Yemeni, or Tunisian.
They also learn how to use civilian camouflage (makeup, hair dyeing, contact lenses, clothing).
A follow-on advanced training component consisting of one-month courses – sniper course, driving, or other courses that the unit will designate.
Mista’arvim Operational Risk Is Very High
Countless Mista’arvim intelligence-gathering missions go unnoticed and unpublished. Yet, occasionally, operations can go to hell in a handbasket.
One such highly publicized operation took place in November 2018. Hamas security forces became suspicious of the activity of a group they believed to be smugglers. In reality, they were members of Mista’arvim.
The unit was forced to shoot it out with Hamas while trying to withdraw back into Israel. It was only after the Israelis began shooting at the Hamas forces with drones and aircraft that Hamas realized that they were chasing Israeli operatives and not smugglers.
The commander of the operation, identified only as LTC ‘M’ was killed. A reserve captain was seriously wounded. Six Hamas men were killed, including a senior member of Hamas’s Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades.
In the aftermath of the operation, Hamas was shocked to learn that the Israeli unit hadn’t been in Gaza for just a few days but for several weeks. They traced their activities backward and found that the unit had rented safe houses and was scouting strategic locations, including the homes of senior Hamas officials.
Hamas published the photos of the Israeli undercover operatives, which will probably preclude them from ever working undercover again.
It’s unclear if the unit’s mission was to plant spy devices at key locations in the Hamas-controlled city or kidnap Nur Barakeh, head of the Hamas military wing. Barakeh was reportedly killed in the firefight between the unit and Hamas.
The realization that there are entire teams of elite Israeli Special Operatives working freely on the streets of Gaza is a scary proposition for Hamas.
Based on the comments preceding the news piece, we can only assume that the editors of this very interesting website have dealt with the same level of myopia on the part of the pro-Palestinian groups with regards to Oct 7 that many of us have?
One narrative, and only one, seems to be the standard–Israel didn’t know it was coming/Hamas and the downtrodden are the victors.
As much as the ZioNazis themselves make sure to strictly control all discourse and to punish those who stray therefrom, nevertheless it is not a strategy they alone employ. Many of us have run into the same thing in our just asking questions or suggesting that maybe Bibi knew about the impending attack and allowed it to take place.
In many ways, the entire exercise mirrors what many of us tried to do 20+ years ago after 9/11 in suggesting an alternative to the “arabs did it” narrative and were then accused of being “apologists for terrorism” and “muslim lovers”, but now the accusation is that for just considering the possibility that Israel knew, we are all accused of being Mossad or aipac agents.
ed note–You are correct in your assumption, and like you, we find it a maddening exercise trying to reason with these types with the notion that maybe, just MAYBE, there is more to all of this than simply ‘Hamas Won’.