Richard Melson

August 2004

Israel’s Anti-Palestinian State-Sponsored Terrorism Units: Part II

The IDF Combat Engineering Corps has two SF (Special Forces) units - Sayeret Yael and Unit YACHSAP, which are joined together under the Special Operations Engineering Unit 5326 ("Yechida Handasit Lemivt'zaim Meuhadim - YAHALOM", in Hebrew).

History

Part of the IDF Combat Engineering Corps, Sayeret Yael is the IDF SF demolition unit. While less known then most other IDF SF units, since its formation in 1982 the unit had carved itself a reputation as one the more elite units in the IDF.

The unit was originally formed as a lesson from the Israeli-Arab Peace of the Galilee war in 1982. During that war, the IDF realized that the Combat Engineering Companies (PALHAN), which are an integral part of each infantry brigade, and the regular Combat Engineering Corps battalions lacked advance demolition skills that SF operations sometimes required. Additionally, the IDF wanted a more independent unit that can keep up with other elite SF units and provide them with demolition skills during long range incursions.

After its formation, the unit started carrying out joint missions with other SF units in operations that required expert demolition skills such as car bombing and booby-traps as well as conducted its own operations. Another major role for the unit is to help conventional forces crossing maritime obstacles. Accordingly, the unit’s operators posses basic diving and underwater demolition skills.

During the IDF deployment in Lebanon the unit was highly active and performed missions such as placing explosive charges in terrorists’ routes or blowing up guerrilla targets using powerful mines.

Current Deployment

After the IDF withdrawal from Lebanon in May 2000, and the breakout of the recent Israeli-Palestinian clashes, the unit became increasingly active as well. Today, most of the unit’s missions are urban in the Territories, a change from the unit’s traditionally open field AO.

Few operators from the unit are joining the SF unit on missions that required demolition such as:

Blowing up terrorists’ houses as a retaliation act after terrorists’ attacks.
Blowing up Palestinian factories used to make weapons or explosives.
Blowing up key Palestinian facilities – bridges, radio station, headquarters, etc.

Organizational Change

In 1995 due to budgetary as well as organizational reasons, the unit was joined with the IDF Combat Engineering Corps second SF unit - YACHSAP - to form the Special Operations Engineering Unit ("Yechida Handasit Lemivt'zaim Meuhadim - YAHALOM", in Hebrew). Today, both

Yael and YACHSAP are two companies in YAHALOM and are located in the same base. However, parts from their joined command and headquarters functions, the two units are still largely independent including their own mission and training regime.

Training

Since it was designed to join the most elite IDF units in their missions, the unit’s training is highly intense, both mentally and physically. The training regime lasts 18 months and consists of open filed combat, demolition and six months navigation training necessary for long range operations. In addition, the unit’s operators learn how to use small boats and undergone basic diving course and underwater demolition course needed to handle maritime obstacles or to blow up targets with underwater foundations such as bridges or dams.

Field Intelligence Corps Special Forces

Formed in May 2000, the Field Intelligence Corps is the newest corps among the five IDF Land Corps (the other four are: Infantry, Artillery, Armor, and Combat Engineering). The Field Intelligence Corps has several SF units. The ones that are publicly known are:

Sayeret MATKAL (Unit 767)

The IDF primary intelligence gathering and SF unit.

Unit YACHMAM (Unit 636)

The Target Intelligence Unit ("Yechidat Modiyin Matara - YACHMAM", in Hebrew) is one of the IDF Field Intelligence Corps Visual Intelligence (VISINET) gathering unit.

Table of Contents

Overview
Roles
Training
YACHMAM Vs. Unit 869
Deployment

Overview

Also known as Unit Nit'zan (Unit 636), the unit was formed in 1993, after the IDF realized that one of its major field corps - the Artillery Corps – lacked a LRRP capable unit that can gather intelligence and then target the artillery's fire to its targets.

Up until its formation, the unit’s missions were conducted by IDF reserve personnel that received only basic training and as such performed poorly. So the IDF decided to form a dedicated unit for this need.

The unit was designed to operate in Israel most dangerous front - the north front against Syria - and as such was placed under the command of the Gaash Division. Based in the Nafach army base in the Golan Heights, north of Israel, Gaash is a large division composed of infantry, artillery and armor brigades.

Unit YACHMAM is one of the last SF units in IDF to become publicly exposed. While created in 1993, the unit became publicly known only in 1999. As often happen in IDF, the main reason for the unit's public exposure was manpower - by exposing the unit, the IDF hoped to recruit better quality personnel to the unit.

Roles

The unit has two main roles:

Peacetime - a VISINET unit along the Israeli north borders with Syria and Lebanon.
Wartime – to gather intelligence, report it back to the relevant artillery command, and then target the artillery’s fire to the right coordinates.

Training

The unit has an 8 months training period, which is composed of two main phases:

Four months basic infantry training phase held in the IDF Combat Engineering School in south of Israel.
Four months specialized training, which covers all the necessary military expertise that the unit's soldiers need to know and master - navigation, intelligence gathering, open field combat and cooperation with artillery units. This phase take place in the IDF Intelligence And Reconnaissance School and in the unit’s own base.

After the training is concluded, several operators from the team are sent to the unit’s NCO Course ("Kurs MASHAKEY YACHMAM - KAMY", in Hebrew). This course is 2.5 months in length and is held in the IDF Intelligence And Reconnaissance School (MOS). The graduates of this course will later take commanding positions in the unit, such as an Observations Post Commander.

YACHMAM Vs. Unit 869

The unit is often confused with Unit 869, which is another IDF VISINET unit. One difference between the units is that unit 869 is a much bigger, composed of three companies each based in Israel's hot spots - Lebanon, Syria and the Territories. Unit YACHMAM, however, is a much smaller, based primarily along the Israeli-Lebanese and the Israeli-Syrian borders.

Another difference is that Unit YACHMAM is a more mobile unit, while Unit 869 is a more stationary unit.

However, in actual wartime deployment the units will most likely conduct similar missions. In fact, other then the few differences mentioned above, the two units are essentially the same with both dealing with gathering tactical intelligence.

Deployment

Once the training is concluded, the soldiers are assigned to the unit’s operational companies and begin deployment.

While the unit was originally suppose to focus only on the north front, in the first years after it was created it was assigned to key observation points along the Israeli-Arab borders throughout Israel, rather then just in the north front. This was one of the reasons for confusion between Unit YACHMAM and Unit 869.

Eventually, this unit’s deployment affected its wartime capability, which is largely based on intimate familiarly with the north border, so in 1996 the unit had undergone a small reorganization and was re-deployed along Israel’s north borders.

Today, the unit mostly operates along the Israeli north borders and small teams, made of the unit's soldiers, can be found in IDF military posts along the Israeli-Lebanese and the Israeli-Syrian borders.

As the soldiers spend most of their service in same front they become intimately familiar with the region they are in charge of, and thus able to provide valuable intelligence insights.

Part from companies, in which most of unit’s personnel serves, the unit also has a special mobile team. While the personnel serving in the regular companies has but a standard combat proficiency, the unit's mobile team has a high fighting capability allowing it to assist SF units in operations which involve long range VISINET gathering.