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The Hannibal Directive ((ヘブライ語: נוהל חניבעל)) (or “Hannibal Procedure” or "Hannibal Protocol"〔(Israeli army employed 'Hannibal Protocol' to prevent officer's abduction ), i24news, August 4, 2014.〕) is a secret directive of the Israel Defense Forces with the purpose of preventing Israeli soldiers from being captured by enemy forces in the course of combat. The order, drawn up in 1986 by a group of top Israeli officers, states that at the time of a capture the main mission becomes forcing the release of the captured soldiers from their captors, even if that means injury to Israeli soldiers.〔 It allows commanders to take whatever action is necessary, including endangering the life of a captured soldier, to foil the capture. However, it does not allow for a soldier to be killed to prevent his capture, according to the IDF chief of staff, Benny Gantz.〔Harel, Amos. (After Shalit, some IDF officers see a dead soldier as better than abducted ), ''Haaretz''. 2011〕 ==The directive== Israel has with several notable exceptions adhered to the principle of not negotiating with what it considers terrorists and this especially in hostage situations. This policy led to some notable successes, such as Operation Entebbe, but also to loss of human life, as in the Maalot Massacre. In cases where Israeli soldiers were captured and no military solution was found, Israel was forced to negotiate with the captors about an exchange of prisoners. On several occasions, it led to a highly controversial release of hundreds or even thousands of convicted or suspected terrorists in Israeli captivity. The background to the formulation of the directive was the capture of two Israeli soldiers during a Hezbollah ambush in South Lebanon in June 1986. Both soldiers presumably died during the attack, and their bodies were returned to Israel in an exchange with Hezbollah in 1996. The authors of the order were the three top officers of the IDF Northern Command, Major General Yossi Peled, the command's operations officer, Colonel Gabi Ashkenazi, and its intelligence officer, Colonel Yaakov Amidror. The name of the directive is claimed to have been generated by an IDF computer random code.〔 In a rare interview by one of the authors of the directive, Yossi Peled (later a cabinet minister) denied that it implied a blanket order to kill Israeli soldiers rather than let them be captured by enemy forces. The order allowed the army only to risk the life of a captured soldier, not to take it. "I wouldn't drop a one-ton bomb on the vehicle, but I would hit it with a tank shell”, Peled was quoted as saying. He added that he personally "would rather be shot than fall into Hezbollah captivity."〔 The purpose of the Hannibal directive is to prevent the capture of Israeli soldiers by enemy forces even if thereby risking their life. Israeli soldiers are ordered to stop a capture by force and to use any means available to this end. The controversial logic behind the order seems to be that a dead soldier is preferable to a captive one. The Israeli daily ''Haaretz'' published the following formulation in 2003: "During an abduction, the major mission is to rescue our soldiers from the abductors even at the price of harming or wounding our soldiers. Light-arms fire is to be used in order to bring the abductors to the ground or to stop them. If the vehicle or the abductors do not stop, single-shot (sniper) fire should be aimed at them, deliberately, in order to hit the abductors, even if this means hitting our soldiers. In any event, everything will be done to stop the vehicle and not allow it to escape." The order is considered top secret, and its existence has often been denied by Israeli military authorities. The exact wording of the directive is not known, and it has apparently been updated several times over the years.〔〔 For years the directive's existence has seldom been mentioned in Israeli media and military censors generally did not allow it to become public knowledge.〔 Sometimes, the directive has been referred to in passing or described in purely general terms. Journalist Anshel Pfeffer, for example, described the order in ''The Jerusalem Post'' in 2006 as the “rumored standard procedure” in the eventuality of a kidnap attempt: “soldiers are told, though never officially” the content of this order. The Hannibal directive was described in some detail in an article published in 2003 by ''Haaretz'' journalist Sara Leibovich-Dar, in which she interviewed several high-ranking officers, including the authors of the order.〔 Amos Harel of ''Haaretz'' wrote in November 2011 that the Hannibal directive was suspended for a time "due to opposition from the public and reservist soldiers" and not revised and reinstated until after the abduction of Gilad Shalit in June 2006. Then, the order stated that IDF commanders may take whatever action is necessary, even at the risk of endangering the life of an abducted soldier, to foil the abduction, but it does not allow them to kill an abducted Israeli soldier. Harel writes, however, that a kind of "Oral Law" has developed inside IDF, which is supported by many commanders, even at brigade and division level. It goes further than the official order, including the use of tank shells or air strikes. "A dangerous, unofficial interpretation of the protocol has been created," a senior officer told ''Haaretz''. "Intentionally targeting a vehicle in order to kill the abductee is a completely illegal command. The army's senior command must make this clear to officers."〔 Before the Gaza War in 2009, Lt. Col. Shuki Ribak, the commander of the Golani Brigade's 51st battalion instructed his soldiers to avoid kidnapping at any cost and even made clear that he expected his soldiers to commit suicide rather than being abducted: ()o soldier in Battalion 51 will be kidnapped at any price. At any price. Under any condition. Even if it means that he blows himself with his own grenade together with those trying to capture him. Also even if it means that now his unit has to fire a barrage at the car that they are trying to take him away in. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Hannibal Directive」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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