Israel uses biblical name for its operation to destroy Syrian army capabilities

• Israel uses ancient religious narratives to reinforce claim of divine entitlement, justify its colonial ambitions in region

JERUSALEM

The Israeli army once again used a biblical name - Operation Arrow of Bashan - to describe its military operation targeting the assets and capabilities of the Syrian army following the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime on Sunday.

Since the fall of the Assad regime, the Israeli army embarked on an extensive air campaign that targeted military sites across Syria, including strikes on the Syrian ports of Al-Beida and Latakia that destroyed the Syrian navy fleet.

The Israeli army also announced it has "temporarily" seized control of a demilitarized buffer zone in the Golan Heights, saying the 1974 disengagement agreement with Syria had "collapsed."

According to Israeli military estimates, some 80% of the Syrian army capabilities and assets have so far been destroyed, including fighter jets, helicopters, tanks, warships, radars and various types of rockets.

Operation Arrow of Bashan

In a military statement, Israeli Army Radio said the operation against Syria was named “Operation Arrow of Bashan.”

"Bashan" is a biblical term referring to the lands south of Syria and east of Jordan that was conquered by Israelites after defeating Og, the king of Bashan, according to the Old Testament.

The Israeli army has long drawn the names of its wars and combat operations from the religious texts of the Torah as well as other ancient religious narratives to reinforce a claim of divine entitlement to justify its colonial ambitions in the region.

In the course of the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also invoked biblical references to justify his army's war crimes against Palestinians.

On Oct. 28, last year, Netanyahu used the biblical Amalek narrative while inciting his soldiers to attack Gaza; a violent theory that refers to entirely crushing the population of Gaza, including its women and children.

In early January, the South African legal team used Netanyahu's incitement to genocide - the biblical Amalek narrative - against the Palestinian people in Gaza in the first hearing session before the International Court of Justice in its genocide lawsuit against Israel.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar