Israel fears current intifada may affect military training

The current intifada in the West Bank and Jerusalem might negatively affect the routine Israeli military exercises, the Israeli army has warned.

Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported the Israeli newspaper Makor Rishon saying Israeli army sources fear the current intifada might harm the readiness of the Israeli soldiers and impede the continuity of the regular military exercises should the army carry out certain military operation in the West Bank.

According to Makor Rishon, military exercises were suspended during “Operation Defensive Shield” in 2002 and this negatively affected the performance of the Israeli army in the 2006 war with Hezbollah.

It reported a senior Israeli officer saying that the Israeli army called up additional, but limited, reserve units to be involved in the crackdown of the intifada in order not to affect the continuity of the military exercises.

“We are the graduates of the second intifada, but in the summer of 2006, we learnt a lot. On the other hand, we are seeing what is going on in the streets and we are unable to be only involved in exercises,” he said.