Dahiya doctrine

A crater in Dahieh in 2008, two years after the 2006 Lebanon War

The Dahiya doctrine, or Dahya doctrine,[1] is an Israeli military strategy involving the large-scale destruction of civilian infrastructure in order to pressure hostile governments.[2] The doctrine was outlined by former Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of General Staff Gadi Eizenkot. Israel colonel Gabi Siboni wrote that Israel "should target economic interests and the centers of civilian power that support the organization".[3] The logic is to harm the civilian population so much that they will then turn against the militants, forcing the enemy to sue for peace.[3][4]

The doctrine is named after the Dahieh neighborhood (also transliterated as Dahiyeh and Dahiya) of Beirut, where Hezbollah had its headquarters during the 2006 Lebanon War, and which was heavily damaged by the IDF.[2]

  1. ^ "From War to Deterrence? Israel-Hezbollah Conflict Since 2006". Archived from the original on 12 January 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  2. ^ a b Byman, Daniel (2011). "What Israel can Teach the World and What Israel should Learn". A High Price. pp. 362–382. doi:10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780195391824.003.0026. ISBN 978-0-19-539182-4. p. 364: the threat to destroy civilian infrastructure of hostile regimes, as Israel did to the Dahiya neighborhood of Beirut, where Hizbollah was headquartered in 2006
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference NoSecond was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Amos Harel (5 October 2008). "ANALYSIS / IDF plans to use disproportionate force in next war". Haaretz. Retrieved 3 October 2014.