Ever since warfare began, the purpose of ambushes has been to surprise and kill enemy soldiers. The IDF has realized that in modern warfare against the Arabs claiming the Land of Israel, the purpose of an ambush is more often to make Israel look bad. A new term has thus been coined: "delegitimization ambush."
The weapon of choice against the "delegitimization ambush," the IDF thinks, should include cameras as well as Facebook and Tweeter accounts.
The IDF will therefore place combat photographers in its battalions as part of "the struggle over image and consciousness" being waged against the Arabs who claim the Land of Israel, IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai said.
"Almost every event that takes place in Gaza or Judea and Samaria at any given time appears on the international stage, with the involvement of an international group and through the social networks," he said. Besides damaging Israel's image, these attacks hit its economy, erode the trust in its judicial system and hurt Israel academically and culturally. Therefore, the IDF understands that the [damage to] public consciousness is worse than the actual violence.
"These ambushes take place almost every Friday ay Bilin and Naalin," he explained. An unnamed IDF officer recently said that the leftist-incited disturbances at Bilin and Naalin had abated over the summer because the anarchists behind the events were putting their efforts into the "tent protest" in Tel Aviv.