Sayeret Matkal

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Template:Israelis Sayeret Matkal (Hebrew: סיירת מטכ"ל - General Staff Reconnaissance unit) is the elite special forces unit of the Israeli Defence Force (IDF). It was established in 1957 as Unit 269 by veterans of the Paratroopers Brigade, Unit 101 and the IDF's Intelligence Branch (Aman). Its main roles are counter terror, deep reconnaissance and intelligence gathering. The unit is modelled on the British SAS, and organizationally reports to Aman. Its IDF nickname is simply "The Unit". The unit's motto is "Who Dares Wins" (same as the SAS motto).

The unit is best known for Operation Thunderbolt, more commonly but mistakenly known as Operation Entebbe, in which it rescued more than 100 Air France airline passengers hijacked to Uganda by PLO terrorists, losing the unit commander, Jonathan Netanyahu, to enemy gunfire.

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Recruitment and training

The unit was kept top-secret during its initial years. Fighters and commanders were selectively hand-picked, based on personal acquaintances and family members of existing members (two of Netanyahu's brothers also served in the unit, for example).

Since the 1980s, while still secretive, the unit opened to voluntary recruits. Twice a year it holds a notoriously gruelling selection camp (Gibush) for potential recruits lasting several sleepless days. The recruits are constantly monitored by doctors and psychologists. Those who make it through the end with passing evaluation marks are admitted.

During the 1990s, this selection camp practice was picked up by other IDF special forces (Sayeret). Lately, IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz plans to unify all these camps to prevent recruit burn-outs and medical injury by over-enthusiastic youths.

Once admitted to the unit, recruits train for 20 months, with heavy emphasis on small arms, martial arts, orienteering, camouflage, reconnaissance and other skills important for survival behind enemy lines. Although Sayeret Matkal has its own insignia, Sayeret Matkal is the only unit in the IDF whose soldiers are not allowed to wear it in public due to its classified nature.

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Notable (former) Sayeret Matkal figures

Despite being a top-secret and relatively small army unit, former Sayeret Matkal veterans have a disproportionate influence on the army and public service. This may partly be due to the fact that rigorous screening and training (second only to that of the Israeli Air Force pilot academy) ensures that only the most capable and motivated Israeli youths are accepted by the unit as fighters.

  • There is a wideheld misconception that Israeli Prime Minister and former Major General Ariel Sharon also served in Sayeret Matkal. This belief is unfounded. Sharon (then a Major) did create and command the IDF's first special-forces unit (Unit 101) in 1953. Many people feel that this unit was the organizational parent of Sayeret Matkal. When Unit 101 was merged into the Paratroopers Brigade in 1954, Sharon became brigade commander - he never served in Sayeret Matkal.
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Known operations

Note: Until recently the Israeli army had an official policy of denying existence of this unit. Operations were generally attributed to "elite paratroopers". Sayeret Matkal operations are still kept secret to this day. However, due to the unit's successes in daring operations, it soon became a very publicly-known secret in Israeli society.

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See also

Israeli Special Forces:


Israeli security forces:

Similar foreign special forces units:

he:סיירת מטכ"ל pl:Sayeret Matkal

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