Hannibal Directive
 Hannibal Directive(soldier, orders)   | |
|---|---|
| Interest of | Benny Gantz |
| “The author refers to the infamous 'Hannibal Directive', which compels the Israeli army to kill Israelis rather than let them be taken hostage.” | |
The Hannibal Directive (or "Procedure" or "Protocol") is a controversial procedure used by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to prevent the capture of Israeli soldiers by enemy forces.
Background
It was introduced in 1986, after a number of abductions of IDF soldiers in Lebanon and the subsequent controversial prisoner exchanges. The full text of the directive has never been published and until 2003 Israeli military censorship even forbade any discussion of the subject in the press. The Hannibal Directive has been changed several times. At one time the formulation was that "the kidnapping must be stopped by all means, even at the price of striking and harming our own forces."
The Hannibal Directive has, at times, apparently existed in two different versions, one top-secret written version, accessible only to the upper echelon of the IDF, and one "oral law" version for division commanders and lower levels. In the latter versions, "by all means" was often interpreted literally, as in "an IDF soldier was 'better dead than abducted'". In 2011, IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz stated the directive does not permit killing IDF soldiers.
Past incidents
The Hannibal Directive has not prevented the capture of a single Israeli soldier. Among the 11 Israelis involved in the seven reported Hannibal incidents, only one soldier (Gilad Shalit) survived. In his case the declaration of Hannibal occurred too late to have any influence on the course of events. There is however only one case where Israeli forces have been officially confirmed to be directly responsible for an Israeli death.[1]
More recently
On 23 October 2023, Jonathan Cook posted on X:
- So much space continues to be dedicated to the Hamas attack more than two weeks on (from the start of the October 2023 Gaza−Israel conflict). But the article linked below is a rare attempt to try to piece together the events of 7 October 2023 without simply relying on Israel's official, increasingly strained narrative.[2]
- The author refers to the infamous 'Hannibal Directive', which compels the Israeli army to kill Israelis rather than let them be taken hostage. It usually applies to military personnel, and has been used a number of times in the past.
- But the author points out there are plenty of indications to suggest it was applied *as policy* towards Israeli civilians during the Hamas attack. In other words, the army appears to have preferred to kill both the Israelis and Hamas militants holding them in communities near Gaza rather than try to negotiate a release.
Related Documents
| Title | Type | Publication date | Author(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Document:Dear Mr Starmer, we fact-checked your 7 Oct statement. You’re welcome | blog post | 7 October 2024 | Editor | "Appalling mix of regurgitated and already-discredited lies with grotesque one-sidedness" |
| Document:Goldstone: An act of negligence | Article | 4 April 2011 | Noura Erakat | Downplay of Israeli aggression towards civilians during the Gaza War, causes scholars to question Richard Goldstone. Regardless of what may have been his best intentions, Goldstone has negligently, one hopes not deliberately, undermined the laws of armed conflict and emboldened those states, like Israel, who believe that it is a surmountable nuisance. |
| Document:Starmer’s purges of Labour have mutated into the arrest of Palestine supporters | blog post | 30 August 2024 | Jonathan Cook | Britain’s authoritarian new prime minister is expanding the scope of already draconian laws to redefine his critics as ‘supporters’ of terrorism. Starmer wants to be judge, jury and executioner. We must not let him get away with it. |
References
- ↑ "After Shalit, Some IDF Officers See a Dead Soldier as Better Than Abducted"
- ↑ "A growing number of reports indicate Israeli forces responsible for Israeli civilian and military deaths following October 7 attack"
- ↑ "The author refers to the infamous 'Hannibal Directive', which compels the Israeli army to kill Israelis rather than let them be taken hostage"
This page imported content from Wikipedia on 23 October 2023.Wikipedia is not affiliated with Wikispooks. Original page source here
