The Israeli occupation army admitted that an officer and a recruit from the Dovdfan unit (affiliated with the undercover forces) had been wounded during the military operation it launched in the village of Burqin, south of Jenin, in the northern occupied West Bank, on Sunday, September 26.
When was the Duvdevan unit formed?
Who has the idea of founding?
What is the nature of the tasks assigned to it?
What about the most prominent operations carried out over the past years?
Founder Ehud Barak
- June 1986: This unit was established by Ehud Barak when he held the position of Commander of the Middle Brigade (which includes the West Bank) in the occupation army, months before the outbreak of the first Palestinian intifada, which was called the Intifada of stones.
It is called Duvdevan Unit or Unit No. 2017.
– A special unit to combat the so-called terrorism affiliated to the army and includes individuals who carry out special military and security tasks, estimated at hundreds annually, if not more.
- The elements of this unit are not limited to army soldiers, but the "Border Guard" police contribute to supplying this unit with many elements.
- These elements work among the Palestinian population centers, so it is necessary that they be of eastern features so that they do not arouse suspicion around them when they carry out disguise while they are on their way to carry out the tasks assigned to them.
- The unit hires experts in makeup and disguise operations to work around the clock with the elements of this group.
- Its members are particularly keen to disguise themselves as Palestinian vegetable merchants who wear traditional Palestinian clothes, and move around in a Mercedes "cabin", the car used by Palestinian merchants, and other common cars in Palestine.
This special unit is active in collecting intelligence information, and carries out raids and arrests, especially throughout the occupied West Bank.
The most important tasks assigned to it are carrying out assassinations and thwarting any armed Palestinian attacks or operations.
The existence of this unit was kept secret until 1988, after journalists revealed it and described it as the assassination unit of the occupation army, which prompted these journalists to freeze their press credentials in Israel.
Raid, arrest and assassination
Duvdevan was strengthened after the signing of the Oslo Accords and the withdrawal of the occupation army from the centers of Palestinian cities and towns, as it became famous for its raids, arrests and assassinations of senior leaders of Palestinian factions throughout the West Bank.
It turned into a spearhead with the outbreak of the second Palestinian intifada in September 2000, as it became the most important commando unit and the fight against so-called terrorism that is active against the Palestinians in their places of residence in the West Bank.
This unit participated in operations outside the West Bank, for the first time in the heart of the Gaza Strip during the 2008-2009 war, and during the subsequent wars on the Strip, especially the “Cast Lead” war in 2014.
Commando brigade.. 4 units
- July 7, 2015: Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot decided to establish a new commando brigade to which 4 special units would be transferred: Majlan, Duvdevan, Aguz and Raymond, with the aim of improving the joint use of units in an emergency situation, and strengthening the infantry and special forces.
- The Majlan unit is specialized in destroying specific targets in the depths of the battlefield, and in the production of intelligence information. As for Duvdevan, it is an undercover unit operating in the West Bank.
As for the Agor unit, it belongs to the Golani Brigade and its main objective is to fight gangs. It was formed in the early nineties to fight against the Lebanese Hezbollah, and finally, the Raymond unit, which operates in the southern region and specializes in desert combat.
The unit has won hundreds of awards and honors for its private and covert operations, but the names and identities of its members and workers have never been revealed.
Notable Operations
August 6, 2000: The Duvdefan unit attempted to assassinate Mahmoud Abu Hanoud, the leader of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades in the northern West Bank, but the operation failed a great deal and led to the killing of 3 Israeli soldiers and the survival of the Palestinian leader.
August 7, 2002: An undercover unit stormed the western neighborhood of Tulkarm in the West Bank, killing at least two Palestinians and wounding several others.
November 9, 2004: A squad of undercover men in Arab clothes shot 4 Palestinian youths who were riding in a car in the city of Jenin in the northern Gaza Strip. Among the martyrs were two of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades affiliated with the Fatah movement.
2013: The residents of the town of Tammun exposed the elements of the "Israeli" special force when they were disguised as vegetable traders, and stoned them, which led to the injury of two of them, and the wounding of about 8 Palestinians. After revealing their identity, a force of the occupation army intervened and stormed the town to rescue them.
- November 6, 2015: Undercover arrested a Palestinian youth and took him to an unknown location after clashes at the northern entrance to Bethlehem.
November 12, 2015: The undercover unit assassinated the Palestinian youth Abdullah Shalalda (28 years old) in a hospital in the city of Hebron in the south of the West Bank.
December 10, 2015: Undercover forces arrested Palestinian Bassem Al-Naasan two days ago inside Al-Wahda Hotel in the center of Ramallah in the West Bank.
April 16, 2017: The Palestinian police arrested two members of the Dovdefan unit in the Rafidia neighborhood of Nablus, near An-Najah University. They were transferred to the Palestinian police station, and then returned to the occupation army after the intervention of the Israeli Civil Administration.
- 2018: A soldier from Dovdefan was killed in Al-Amari camp, Ramallah, after a Palestinian resister threw a granite slab at him.
- A Palestinian study showed that undercover units carried out 54 assassinations in 4 years of the first intifada, and 74 other assassinations in the second intifada.