Former IDF General: Bombing AP Tower In Gaza In May Conflict Was An ‘Own Goal’

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A combination picture shows a tower building housing AP, Al Jazeera offices as it collapses after Israeli missile strikes in Gaza city, May 15, 2021. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
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A former Israeli general on Sunday said the Israel Defense Forces’ bombing of a tower that housed The Associated Press in the Gaza Strip during May’s conflict amounted to an “own goal,” causing more damage to Israel’s image than it provided operational benefit.

“Bringing down the tower with the AP offices was equivalent to a self-inflicted ‘public relations terror attack’ and an own goal, in our view,” said Maj. Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon, the former head of IDF Operations.

Alon, who led the military’s investigation into the public relations-related issues connected to the recent conflict, was referring to a May 15 strike on the 12-story Al-Jalaa tower in Gaza City, which sparked immediate criticism from around the world, including from American lawmakers who have long been staunch advocates for Israel.

“Not everyone in the IDF believes this, but I am convinced that this was a mistake. The operational benefit was not worth the damage that it caused diplomatically and in terms of perception,” he said.

Israel claimed the tower was used by Hamas to set up equipment to block GPS signals in order to interfere with the military’s Iron Dome missile defense system, which Israel was using to intercept the rockets, mortar shells, and drones being launched from Gaza.

Read more at Times of Israel.

{Matzav.com}


1 COMMENT

  1. If the “tower was used by Hamas to set up equipment to block GPS signals in order to interfere with the military’s Iron Dome missile defense system”, then I don’t understand what Alon’s problem is. Perhaps Israel did a poor job in conveying why the operation was necessary, but apparently, the operation was indeed necessary. Hence Mr. Alon can criticize Israel’s public relations prowess, but not the operation itself, which was vital in defending Israeli lives from incoming missiles.

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