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Operation Defensive Shield (In Hebrew, מבצע חומת מגן) was a large-scale military operation conducted by the Israeli Defence Forces in April 2002. It was the largest military operation in the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War.
In March 2002, more than 135 Israeli civilians were killed in terror attacks committed by Palestinian factions such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades (the "military branch" of Fatah). These attacks reached their peak on March 27, 2002, with the event known as the " Passover Massacre", in which a Palestinian suicide bomber killed 28 people at the Park Hotel in NetanyaNetanya ( Hebrew: is a city in the Center District of Israel in Israel. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), at the end of 2001 the city had a total population of 163,700. Demographics According to CBS, in 2001 the ethnic makeup of (later, 2 more died from their injuries, raising the death toll to 30). Many of the victims were survivors of the Holocaust.
Within twenty-four hours, the IDF had issued emergency call-up notices for 20,000 reserve soldiers, the largest such call-up since the 1982 Lebanon War.
The stated goals of the operation (as conveyed to the Israeli KnessetThe Knesset (, Hebrew for "assembly") is the Parliament of Israel. As the legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset enacts laws, supervises the work of the government, and has the power to vote to remove the President of the State and the by Prime Minister Ariel SharonPrime Minister of Israel, spent many years in the Israeli Defense Forces before being elected in March 2001. Ariel Sharon ( Hebrew: ; born February 27, 1928), is a long-serving Israeli political and military leader, and has been the current Prime Minister on April 8April 8 is the 98th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (99th in leap years). There are 267 days remaining. Events 1700-1899 1730 Shearith Israel, the first synagogue in New York City, is dedicated. 1742 The first performance of George Frideric Hand, 2002) were to "enter cities and villages which have become havens for terrorists; to catch and arrest terrorists and, primarily, their dispatchers and those who finance and support them; to confiscate weapons intended to be used against Israeli citizens; to expose and destroy terrorist facilities and explosives, laboratories, weapons production factories and secret installations. The orders are clear: target and paralyze anyone who takes up weapons and tries to oppose our troops, resists them or endanger them - and to avoid harming the civilian population. "
Since the conclusion of Operation Defensive Shield, the follow-on Operation Determined Path and the continued construction of the Israeli West Bank Barrier the level of terrorismThe term Palestinian terrorism is commonly used for terrorist acts committed by Palestinian citizens and Palestinian organizations against Israeli Jews, and occasionally against nationals of other countries. Valid or not, "Palestinian terrorism" is often in general, and suicide bombingA suicide bombing is a bomb attack on people or property, committed by a person who knows the explosion will cause his or her own death (see suicide). Historically the term has been used by Western media as far back as World War II in reference to the acts in particular, has dropped by more than 95% to less then five suicide bombings during the period from August 2003 to July 2004.