Special forces of Israel

Special forces units in the Israel Defense Forces encompass a broad definition of specialist units. Such units are usually a company or a battalion in strength.

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Sayeret (Hebrew: סיירת‎, pl.: sayarot), or reconnaissance units in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) nomenclature, specialize in intelligence gathering and surveillance. In practice, these units specialize in commando and other special forces roles, in addition to reconnaissance (the degree of specialization varies by units and current needs).

Mista'arvim (Hebrew: מסתערבים‎, lit. Arabized; Arabic: مستعربين‎, Musta'arabin), also spelled as mistaravim, are counter-terrorism units in whose members are specifically trained to operate undercover, in enemy territory, in order to assassinate or capture wanted terrorists.

Special forces units in the IDF
Ariel Sharon (left), and Aharon Davidi (center), before a reprisal operation, 1955.

Unit 101
Main article: Unit 101

Commando Unit 101, the founding Israeli special forces unit, was established and commanded by Ariel Sharon on orders from Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion in August 1953.[1] They were armed with non-standard weapons and tasked with carrying out retribution operations across the state's borders—in particular, establishing small unit maneuvers, activation and tactical insertion and exit tactics.

Members of the unit were recruited only from agricultural Kibbutzim and Moshavim. Membership in the unit was by invitation only, and any new member had to be voted on by all existing members before they were accepted.[2]

The unit was merged into the 890th Paratroop Battalion during January 1954, on orders of General Dayan, Chief of Staff, because he wanted their experience and spirit to be spread among all infantry units of IDF starting with the paratroopers. They are considered to have had a significant influence on the development of subsequent Israeli special forces units.[3]

Sayeret units today
Israeli officers of the Paratrooper Battalion 890 in 1955 with Moshe Dayan (standing, third from the left). Ariel Sharon is standing, second from the left and commando Meir Har Zion is standing furthest left.

All combat brigades in the IDF have a unit with improved weaponry and training used for reconnaissance and special forces missions, trained to use advanced weapons and reconnaissance technology, as well as hand-to-hand combat. Historically the brigades used to only have one company-sized unit outfitted to do this job, known as Palsar (Hebrew contraction of: פלוגת-סיור, Plugat Siyur (singular) / Plugot Siyur (plural), "Reconnaissance Company"). Although the Palsar are mostly oriented at battlefield support (which is their raison d'être), many have participated in special operations during recent years. All infantry units as well as some armored units have Palsar. While in the past there were differences between the Siyur units, due to the experiences of the past decades the IDF is now consolidating them into larger units with many different capabilities: battalion-sized units called Gadsar (contraction of Gdud Siyur, "Reconnaissance battalion"). Each Gadsar is made up of three specialized Plugot (companies): demolitions and combat engineering (Plugat Habalah Handasit, or Palhan), reconnaissance (Plugat Siyur, Palsar) and anti-tank (Pluga Neged Tankim, or Palnat).

On late December 2015, some Ground Force special forces units have been assembled in the Oz Brigade.[4][5]

Other SF units or Sayarot are larger units, operating directly under the General Staff. They are tasked with the most sensitive missions but they also support other conventional and SF units, if needed. Those units are Sayeret Matkal, Shayetet 13 and Shaldag.

IDF units

Reconnaissance units
Shayetet 13 commandos prepare for an exercise aboard a warship

These are the most well-known reconnaissance units. Their operators are proficient in long range solo navigation, as opposed to other special forces units in the IDF where long range navigation is done with a minimum of 2 fighters.

  • Unit 269 – Sayeret Matkal – the IDF's principal Sayeret unit, used mainly to obtain strategic intelligence behind enemy lines and to perform hostage-rescue missions on foreign soil. It is directly subordinate to the Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate (AMAN).
  • Flotilla 13 – Shayetet 13 – the naval commando unit, equivalent to the US Navy SEALs or British Special Boat Service. It is part of the Israeli Navy and tasked with maritime hostage-rescue missions. Founded in 1948 by former members of the Palyam, the naval branch of the Haganah.
  • Unit 5101 – Shaldag – founded in 1974 by several former Sayeret Matkal veterans, it is the Israeli Air Force's commando unit, specializing in forward air control, aerial & special reconnaissance, and target designation outside of Israel's borders.

89th "Oz" Commando Brigade
Egoz operators blend into the landscape of the Golan Heights.
  • Unit 212 – Maglan – a commando unit which specializes in operating behind enemy lines.
  • Unit 217 – Duvdevan – mistaravim unit.
  • Unit 621 – Egoz – counter-guerrilla unit.

Infantry Corps

The regular five infantry brigades (Golani, Givati, Nahal, Kfir and the Paratroopers) operate their own Palsars, today joint with Pal'nat and Pal'han to form a "Gad'sar/G'dud Siur", or Reconnaissance Battalion. Each unit is subordinate to a specific brigade command, though they are not restricted to it.

Armored Corps

Artillery Corps

Combat Engineering Corps

Combat Intelligence Collection Corps
  • Combat Intelligence Collection Special Forces – tasked with intelligence-gathering, they operate either alone or in conjunction with other IDF units. They also provide target designation in wartime.[6]

Air Force
  • Unit Snapir – force protection and harbor security unit.
  • Unit YALTAM - defensive divers unit tasked with mine countermeasures, explosive ordnance disposal and salvage and recovery. Not to be confused with Shayetet 13's own underwater unit.

Other units
IDF Alpinist Unit dispatched to Mount Hermon
  • Alpinist – IDF mountain-warfare unit operating in the Golan Heights; provides protection for IDF electronic listening posts on Mount Hermon and Mount Avital. This unit also provides alpine rescue services. (Northern Command).
  • General Staff Security Unit – bodyguard unit of the Chief of General Staff and other top dignitaries.
  • LOTAR – the IDF counter-terrorism school. Most IDF special forces units mentioned go through weeks of training lead by LOTAR at the Mitkan Adam base. Due to the instructors' knowledge and intensive combat training, the unit has a quick reaction force consisting of both enlisted and reserve soldiers.
  • LOTAR Eilat – reserve force counter-terrorism/hostage-rescue unit based at the southern Israeli port city of Eilat. (Southern Command).
  • Oketz – the IDF's special K-9 unit.

Disbanded units
  • Unit 101 – the first Israeli special forces unit, commanded by Ariel Sharon.
  • Sayeret Rimon – Gaza Strip mista'arvim unit, commanded by Meir Dagan.
  • Samson Unit – Gaza Strip mista'arvim unit.
  • Sayeret Shaked – IDF Southern Command special forces unit.
  • Sayeret Duchifat – Armored Corps anti-tank unit.

Law enforcement

Border Police
  • Yamam – a counter-terrorist unit specializing in hostage-rescue operations and offensive take-over raids against targets in civilian areas
  • Yamas – special operations and mista'arvim unit directly subordinate to the Shin Bet.

Police

Prison Service
  • Metzada unit – quick response and intervention force and specializes in suppression of prisoner uprisings, especially in prisons containing Palestinian prisoners.
  • Nahshon – intervention and conveyance unit; deals with searches, silencing disturbances, guarding IPS staff, etc.
  • Dror – counter-narcotics unit

See also
  • Mista'arvim - Undercover counter-terrorism personnel/units specifically trained to assimilate among the local Arab population. They are commonly tasked with performing intelligence gathering, law enforcement, hostage rescue and counter-terrorism, and to use disguise and surprise as their main weapons.[7][8]
  • Mossad – Israel's covert intelligence and special operations agency abroad.
    • Kidon – a department within Mossad that is allegedly responsible for selective high-profile assassination.
  • Aman – Israel's military intelligence agency.
  • Shin Bet – Israel's internal security agency.
  • Oz Brigade – the Ground Forces formation grouping some of the Israeli special forces units.
  • Israel's Arab Warriors – a documentary on the Arab soldiers of the IDF.

References
  1. "Unit 101". Specwar.info. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
  2. Like Dreamers, by Yossi Klein Halevy, (New York 2013), pages 42–43
  3. "Jewish Virtual Library — Israeli Special Forces History". Retrieved 2009-09-04.
  4. Zeff, Michael (27 December 2015). "New Israeli Special Operations Infantry Brigade". Special Forces International. Tazpit News Agency. Archived from the original on 14 February 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  5. Schor, Elana (2016-02-07). "IDF's new commando brigade has first exercise". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2020-02-07.
  6. http://www.isayeret.com/content/units/ground/intel/article.shtml
  7. Yoav Zitun (2012-02-05). "Border Guard to join IDF forces on Israel-Egypt border". Ynetnews. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
  8. "IDF Mista'Aravim". special-ops.org. 2013-10-23. Archived from the original on 2015-10-11.
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