Duvdevan Unit – An Undercover Force Known for Its Cunning and Disguise, Accused of Killing Shireen Abu Akleh

Arabists carrying knives, sometimes carrying automatic weapons, and using internationally prohibited dum-dum bullets, they are called the army’s chameleon because of their ability to disguise, but their real name within the Israeli occupation army is the Duvdevan Unit or Unit 217.

By wearing Palestinian clothes and using women's make-up, they carried out many dirty operations and complex tasks that ordinary members of the Israeli occupation army (IDF) cannot perform, and have been accused on numerous occasions of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Their most recent dirty crime was their involvement in the assassination of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh on May 11, 2022, while she was covering the storming of the occupied city of Jenin in the West Bank, according to Hebrew reports.

 

Special Specifications

On May 12, 2022, the Hebrew newspaper, Haaretz, revealed the details of a special investigation within the Israeli army, which dealt with the responsibility of members of the undercover unit in the occupation army (Duvdevan), for the assassination of Al-Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh.

The Israeli newspaper confirmed that “the initial report of the occupation army acknowledged that the Duvdevan elements fired a barrage of bullets in the Jenin camp towards the northern region, where Shireen Abu Akleh and the press teams were present, it is likely that a bullet hit her and killed her.

Duvdevan, a Hebrew word meaning cherry, was established in 1986, on the initiative of former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, who was then commander of the Central District (West Bank), before the outbreak of the first Palestinian Intifada (December 8, 1987).

The plan to establish the unit was based on a desire that the Israeli army would be able to operate within the Arab population centers to obtain intelligence information, thwart the resistance in its beginnings, and inflict severe and precise strikes on it.

At that time, Barak talked about the logic behind this unit, saying: “I want a unit whose members look like Arabs, speak like Arabs, ride bicycles in Nablus as if they are on Dizengoff Street in Tel Aviv. These people can work under that cover to access the most accurate information, and carry out complex tasks such as assassination, kidnapping, and surprise attack, without the need for large forces and heavy equipment.”

The symbol of the unit consists of a double-edged sword, which, according to Jewish belief, symbolizes the machinations of Ehud Ben Gera, one of their heroes, in his assassination of Eglon, king of Moab, which is according to their sacred book of Judges; Ben Gera took bold measures to save the people of “Israel,” and decided to assassinate the king of Moab in his palace through tricks and machinations.

 

Selection Conditions

The conditions for selecting most of the members of this unit are difficult because they are Arabized soldiers whose features are required to match those of the Arabs and to be fully proficient in the Palestinian dialect.

Duvdevan’s fighters are known for their activities within the undercover units, most of their presence is located in the occupied West Bank, and they are included in the lists of Death units such as Samson unit, Shaldag Unit, and YAMAS Unit.

Duvdevan Unit operates under the direct command of the Judea and Samaria Division in the Israeli armed forces, and later it was integrated into all sectors of the fighting without exception, such as the border guards, and even the police forces.

Interestingly, this unit employs experts who specialize in make-up and disguise operations at the highest level, to work around the clock with the elements of this group.

According to the Hebrew Hamichlol website on December 10, 2018, the unit's members are especially keen on disguise, examples include: disguising themselves as Palestinian vegetable merchants who wear traditional clothes, and they travel in cars common in Palestine.

 

Dirty Operations

The historical record of the Duvdevan Unit is full of many dirty operations, but some of them actually failed and led to the loss of many of their soldiers as a result.

On August 6, 2000, the unit attempted to assassinate Mahmoud Abu Hanoud, commander of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas in the northern West Bank.

However, the operation failed and led to the killing of 3 Israeli soldiers, with the rank of sergeant, and the survival of the Palestinian commander.

At the time, the Israeli military analyst, Ron Ben-Yishai wrote: “There is no doubt that the loss is huge… In addition to the fact that Abu Hanoud turned from a local hero into a legend, the morale and self-confidence of the Israeli public had been seriously damaged.”

At the time, the Duvdevan Unit published a statement about the incident, in which it said: “The assassination attempt (Abu Hanoud) is the most painful operation for us.”

After the failure of this operation, the Israeli army command decided to suspend the operational headquarters of Duvdevan, but with the outbreak of the second Palestinian Intifada, the unit's work was extended again.

In 2009, the unit's fighters participated for the first time in operational activities outside the occupied territories of Jerusalem and the West Bank, as they participated in Operation Cast Lead or Battle of the Criterion in the Gaza Strip, led by the unit's commander (at the time) Ofer Winter.

In 2014, the unit's fighters, led by the unit's commander (at the time) Kobe Heller, participated in two operations in Gaza, where the Duvdevan’s members were surrounded by al-Qassam Brigades fighters.

The unit's fighters were rescued with difficulty by air fighters, and an armored battalion led by Moshe Dayan, who was killed by an anti-tank missile by Hamas fighters.

On March 20, 2018, Staff Sergeant Shahar Strug was killed by a bullet fired from another fighter's pistol in the unit, which is one of the most prominent incidents that stirred up Israeli society, about the crisis inside the army camps and the special units between commanders and soldiers.

On May 24, 2018, during an arrest operation for Palestinians in the Al-Amari camp near Ramallah, a marble slab was thrown at the soldier, Staff Sergeant Ronen Lubarsky, fatally wounding him, and two days later, he died of his wounds.

 

Conqueror of Duvdevan

One of the most prominent and dangerous operations carried out by Duvdevan, which ended in abject failure and a bitter defeat, happened on November 11, 2018.

At that time, the unit tried to penetrate the Gaza Strip, in an unconventional way, through a civilian car, its members wearing civilian clothes as a common form of camouflage and deception.

However, a security force affiliated with the al-Qassam Brigades, led by Noureddine Baraka, became suspicious of that car and those inside it, and stopped and searched them, which led to fear and panic.

Here, he discovered the blessing of the command of those elements, and ordered his soldiers to engage directly with them, a quick battle ensued, resulting in the killing of the commander of the Israeli unit and several others, and others were wounded.

However, the operation also resulted in the killing of Noureddine Baraka, the outstanding field commander of Hamas, who was nicknamed “the conqueror of Duvdevan” because he thwarted its plan to penetrate the Gaza Strip and carry out a qualitative operation inside it.

Baraka was 37 years old when he was killed, and he had obtained a master's degree in jurisprudence from the Islamic University of Gaza, which he prepared in the field of his work in the resistance, where the message bore the name Negligence in Jihad.