IOF preparedness diminishing amid latest developments: Israeli media

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The qualifications of the Israeli occupation's ground forces and its preparedness are diminishing very quickly when 2023 will be a year full of challenges, Israeli media said on Monday.

"A large part of the ground forces of the Israeli army is being invested in the West Bank as part of the ongoing security missions," Israeli author and military affairs analyst Ron Ben-Yishai said in Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth. "This is at the expense of the training they did not undergo."

"This is dealing a direct blow to the readiness of the military to go to war, whether with Lebanon or other parties, he added. "In case of an escalation and a multi-front war, the Israeli army might not be ready, such as what happened in Lebanon in 2006."

"The regular field formation of the Israeli army trains very little. This also applies to 66 reserve battalions that the Israeli army will have to recruit this year with the exceptional approval of the Knesset," Ben-Yishai noted.

"The problem lies in the fact that the situation will not improve and that the Israeli army will not train in the foreseeable future," the Israeli journalist wrote. That is when "the need arises to bolster the Israeli forces in the West Bank due to the reoccurring escalation in the region in a phenomenon that could be described as a mini-intifada, and this phenomenon, according to the Shin Bet, is based on previous experiences."

The journalist further noted that it is no longer only about the stabbings, the vehicle ramming operations, or group operations, but rather about the widespread use of firearms in an efficient manner, as well as the proliferation of the events that have for long been outside the constraints of the northern West Bank, the Lions' Den, or the Jenin refugee camp.

Ben-Yishai also touched on the Israeli power struggle and how there is infighting within the ruling class, stressing that this would have grave repercussions that will affect the Israeli occupation forces, the police, and the Shin Bet, leading to disarray among soldiers on the ground.

"Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu claiming that he will handle things and that he has both hands on the wheel is simply impractical, as his personal control is limited," he added.

Ben-Yishai concluded by saying the "qualifications and preparedness of the Israeli ground forces are rapidly diminishing, and the likelihood of an explosion in the West Bank, perhaps Gaza as well, is increasing, as chaos within the governmental institutions is threatening to deal critical damage to the rule of law."

"There is one thing that can be said with confidence: 2023 will be a year full of challenges."

Israeli media said on Tuesday that the recent period in the occupied West Bank saw an escalation in the security situation, which became "dangerous", stressing that the status quo was reminiscent of the situation that prevailed ahead of the Second Palestinian Intifada.

"Since the latest operation in Gaza, there have been IOF soldiers stationed in the area," an Israeli Channel 12 correspondent said, noting that military censorship prevents the size of these forces is revealed or reported on by the media.

"It is prohibited for us to talk about the size of the deployed forces, but we confirm that they are heavily deployed, and the military is starting to complain about how difficult the situation has become."

According to the political commentator, the officials warned before the Knesset that an increase was expected in terms of Palestinian operations and an escalation in terms of the operations' quality. The first sign of this was the twin operation that took place in occupied Al-Quds last week, he added.

Former chief of the Israeli occupation forces' military intelligence directorate Major General Tamir Hayman said Thursday that there were clear signed pointing to the outbreak of a Third Palestinian Intifada in light of the latest round of escalation from the people of occupied Palestine.