Global InformationHannibal Directive information
The Hannibal Directive (Hebrew: נוהל חניבעל; also Hannibal Procedure or Hannibal Protocol) is the name of a controversial procedure that was used by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) until 2016 to prevent the capture of Israeli soldiers by enemy forces. According to one version, it says that "the kidnapping must be stopped by all means, even at the price of striking and harming our own forces."[2] It was introduced in 1986, after a number of abductions of IDF soldiers in Lebanon and subsequent controversial prisoner exchanges. The full text of the directive was never published, and until 2003, Israeli military censorship forbade any discussion of the subject in the press. The directive has been changed several times,[2] until it was officially revoked in 2016 by IDF chief of staff Gadi Eizenkot. The Directive's replacement has not been published.[3][4]
Two versions of the Hannibal Directive may have existed simultaneously at times: a written version, accessible only to the upper echelon of the IDF, and an "oral law" version for division commanders and lower levels. In the latter version, "by all means" was often interpreted literally, as in "an IDF soldier was 'better dead than abducted'". In 2011, IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz stated the directive does not permit killing IDF soldiers to prevent abduction.[5]
In case of the abduction of Gilad Shalit, invocation of the Hannibal Directive occurred too late to have any influence on the course of events.
Israeli newspapers have reported that the IDF was issued orders echoing the wording of the Hannibal Directive during the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel. The IDF was ordered to prevent "at all costs" the abduction of Israeli civilians or soldiers, possibly leading to the death of a large number of Israeli hostages.[6][7][8]
- ^ Harel, Amos. After Shalit, some IDF officers see a dead soldier as better than abducted, Haaretz. 2011
- ^ a b Weizman, Eyal (2017). Forensic Architecture, Violence at the Threshold of Detectability. New York: Zone Books. ISBN 9781935408864., page 176.
- ^ Harel, Amos. "Israel's Military Chief Orders to Revoke Controversial 'Hannibal' Directive". Haaretz. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
nytimesrevokedwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Amos Harel (2011). "Haaretz, Chief of Staff to Military Commanders: Hannibal Directive Does Not Permit Killing of Soldiers to Prevent Abduction".
- ^ Limone, Noa (2023-12-13). "If Israel Used a Controversial Procedure Against Its Citizens, We Need to Talk About It Now". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 2023-12-21. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:5was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
Ynet240111was invoked but never defined (see the help page).