“Getting right to the point, gentlemen, our next mission will take us deep into the West Bank. A little background for you on the West Bank. This is often confusing to non-Israelis, and even to some of us. The West Bank is located west of the Jordan River and the Dead Sea. On the east of it is Jordan, and Israel is on the north, west, and south. The sacred city of Jerusalem is on the very west edge of the West Bank. The Palestinian Authority administers and polices several of the major cities in the area, but not all of the West Bank.
“Israel maintains military control over much of the land including several Jewish settlements. There is an estimated population on the West Bank of just over two million. This includes both Jews and Arabs. The size of it is 2,270 square miles; that’s about twice the size of the state of Rhode Island, and a quarter of the size of the state of Israel.
“Israel captured the West Bank from Jordan in the 1967 war. A 1974 Arab summit conference designated the PLO as the sole representative of the West Bank Arabs. In 1988 Jordan cut legal and administrative ties with the area. Jericho was returned to Palestinian control in May 1994. An accord between Israel and the PLO expanding Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank area was signed September 28, 1995. Later agreements give Palestinians full or shared control over forty percent of West Bank territory.
“With that foundation, we move on to the project at hand. We have an Israeli presence in most of the major areas of the West Bank. What we don’t have is total and complete control. However, when we operate in the West Bank, we can rely on some friendly forces and many safe areas.
“We have a group called the Israeli Land Corps Special Forces. We call these Mistaravim units. This Hebrew word simply means becoming an Arab. These units speak and dress like Arabs and act like Arabs do as well. This is not a secret force, neither is it an elite unit. Rather, they are a regular special force unit trained for specific jobs.
“We have a sizable military force at Rama Army Base in the city of Ramallah, which is in the occupied territories. Ramallah is about fifteen miles north of the city of Jerusalem. Remember, Jerusalem is not a huge metropolis. It has about six hundred thousand people, while Tel Aviv has almost four times that number.
“Our Mistaravim units have intensive training for fifteen months concentrating on basic infantry drills, advanced infantry work, and helicopter assault skills. Then come two months of counterterrorism and hostage-recovery work. This is first as individuals, then in advanced operations with units. One of the last training periods deals with learning Arab traditions, the Arabic language, and how Arabs think. Then come civilian camouflage, looking like an Arab with hair dying, contact lenses, Arab clothing, and other elements of undercover operations.
“I’m telling you this because you’ll be working with some of these men in the coming mission. This is one that we’ve been planning for several months. We probably could do it by ourselves, but on this one we want it to be carried out by the combined forces of Britain, the U.S., and Israel.
“Needless to say, we will be in territory controlled by the Palestinian Authority. We will be the invaders. We will wear uniforms of a different type. Some of us will wear the outfits that the Authority police wear. They really are a small army of over thirty thousand men, but their training is spotty and sketchy. On a one-on-one basis, an Authority cop wouldn’t have a chance with one of our Mistaravim men. We will wear none of our own traditional uniforms. Arab clothing, brown contacts, even black wigs for some and dyed hair for others. The mission is scheduled to last for three days. That means one day moving to the target, one night to take down the target, and the third day to return to friendly territory, where Mistaravim and Regular Army troopers will be on hand to cover us and welcome us.
“Security will be unreasonably tight. We have a continuing fear that there could be a traitor among us, reporting regularly to the Authority leaders and directly to the terrorist organizations. The leaders of our various units will have sealed orders that will be opened only at the last possible moment.
“I can tell you this much. We will be taking down a terrorist training college, where young converts and enthusiasts get their training in advanced terrorism. We will also be digging out more than forty trainers and cadre, about a hundred students, and blowing up enough ordnance and explosives to flatten a square city block of four-story apartment houses. We know of three such areas, and we will undertake the job of demolishing this one and putting as many Arab terrorists in immediate contact with Allah as possible. We take no prisoners.
“For the next two days the SAS and SEALs will be issued their costumes, get their hair adjusted and their faces and hands tinted to a proper Arab shade. The third day we will be moving into the immediate area, going to Arab towns, in threes and fours, and viewing Arab life. The fourth day will be for transport.”
Colonel Ben-Ami turned to where Murdock sat. “Commander Murdock, I understand you have a newly developed shoulder weapon that can fire various types of twenty-millimeter rounds. Is that right?”
“Yes, sir, Colonel. The twenties come in HE, armor-piercing, and smoke, and any of them can be detonated as an airburst up to about a mile.”
“Airburst?” The colonel frowned.
“Yes, sir. The round is laser-sighted. The feedback from the laser in a hundredth of a second sets the fuse in the round for the number of rotations the round needs to make until it hits the target. When the spinning round reaches the correct number of turns, the round explodes. It’s great for shooting around corners, over buildings, and hitting the reverse slope of a ridge.”
“Bring along all of those weapons you have and as many rounds as you can carry.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Now, any general questions?”
One of the SAS men held up his hand. “Sir, will we be working in our units or will we be dispersed among your Mistaravim specialists?”
“Undecided, Captain. We like both ideas. Your units have been trained in teamwork, cooperation, knowing what the buddy on your right and left will do in most situations. That’s hard to break up. However, we believe that some mixing of our specialists in with those units will give us the most effective fighting forces.”
“Sir?” Murdock said.
“Commander.”
“Will there be time for any fieldwork with live firing in this mixed-team operation? I believe that it would greatly benefit my SEALs to have such a cooperative training run.”
“Been some talk of it. Would that be beneficial to the SAS troops as well?”
“Yes, sir,” the SAS captain who spoke before said. “It would give us a firmer operational level when we get into the actual mission.”
“Then it’s done. We’ll work it out. That will come at the end of the sessions, when you’re in your new uniforms and costumes and Arab civilian camouflage. Yes, I think that will be good.”
“Transport?” one of the SAS men asked.
“It will not be a long trip. We will be going in as regular troop rotation replacements at the Rama Army Base near Ramallah we talked about before. We’ll go in at night in closed trucks, so no notice will be taken of your disguises. Transport to the mission area will be by civilian sedan in staggered and random routes so we don’t alert anyone. Radio control will be strict and timing will be decisive. That’s as much as I can tell you about the actual mission.”
The Israeli officer looked around the group. “If there are no more questions, we’ll be meeting at Building 187 tomorrow morning at 0800 to get our preliminary operation started. Now, one word of caution. This is not a competition between the services or nations. This is a cooperative mission. I know both SAS and SEAL men are highly trained and kept at razor-sharp efficiency. I have read after-action reports on many of your amazing missions. What our instructors will do in the next three days is to try to enhance your current skills, and get them slanted into this unique situation you’ll soon find yourself in. We will appreciate the intense cooperation of every man in this operation. That’s all. You’re dismissed.”