The nerve-racking tension and wait for the Islamic Jihad's response following the targeted killing of three top commanders, both after the attacks that started Operation Shield and Arrow and after the attacks that took place thereafter, created a rather strange situation in Israel’s campaign against the terrorist organizations in Gaza.
To Israel, this is a measured, pinpoint action with a desire to limit the conflict geographically and temporally and to focus the response on one element – Islamic Jihad. This trend fits with Israel's previous responses towards a "rebellious faction" and not toward the organization that controls the area.
Despite the high-quality and precise performance by the IDF in killing the three commanders, which opened Operation Shield and Arrow, the public was thrust into an atmosphere of anxiety, uncertainty, and a heightened expectation of a possible response by the terrorist organizations in Gaza, whether by a single organization or a combination of several groups. This expectation was accompanied by reports of disruptions to the routine of life, preparations to sustain a missile attack in various areas, partial paralysis in the private or public sector, cancellations of events, closures of roads, and more. Thus with the start of the rocket attack on Israel Wednesday around 1:30 p.m., a sigh of relief was heard from many residents of the Gaza envelope.
For their part, the Palestinians identify a weakness in these reactions and even a cognitive victory in this asymmetric campaign, or as Muhammad al-Hindi of Islamic Jihad told a Palestinian news website: "The enemy cannot tolerate the war of nerves." Moreover, the tense expectation on the part of the public for a reaction from Islamic Jihad encourages the organization to take the initiative to start another round and determine the minimum requirements for its conclusion. On the assumption that this is not a final round, an information policy must be formulated to prepare the public in a professional manner for the unknown and act to dispel fears and anxieties.
The nerve-racking tension and wait for the Islamic Jihad's response following the targeted killing of three top commanders, both after the attacks that started Operation Shield and Arrow and after the attacks that took place thereafter, created a rather strange situation in Israel’s campaign against the terrorist organizations in Gaza.
To Israel, this is a measured, pinpoint action with a desire to limit the conflict geographically and temporally and to focus the response on one element – Islamic Jihad. This trend fits with Israel's previous responses towards a "rebellious faction" and not toward the organization that controls the area.
Despite the high-quality and precise performance by the IDF in killing the three commanders, which opened Operation Shield and Arrow, the public was thrust into an atmosphere of anxiety, uncertainty, and a heightened expectation of a possible response by the terrorist organizations in Gaza, whether by a single organization or a combination of several groups. This expectation was accompanied by reports of disruptions to the routine of life, preparations to sustain a missile attack in various areas, partial paralysis in the private or public sector, cancellations of events, closures of roads, and more. Thus with the start of the rocket attack on Israel Wednesday around 1:30 p.m., a sigh of relief was heard from many residents of the Gaza envelope.
For their part, the Palestinians identify a weakness in these reactions and even a cognitive victory in this asymmetric campaign, or as Muhammad al-Hindi of Islamic Jihad told a Palestinian news website: "The enemy cannot tolerate the war of nerves." Moreover, the tense expectation on the part of the public for a reaction from Islamic Jihad encourages the organization to take the initiative to start another round and determine the minimum requirements for its conclusion. On the assumption that this is not a final round, an information policy must be formulated to prepare the public in a professional manner for the unknown and act to dispel fears and anxieties.