Armored bulldozer
Armored bulldozers are a standard tool of Combat engineering battalions, and the IDF has gained notoriety for their use of armored tractors for urban warfare in the Al-Aqsa Intifada. Although the Israeli Engineering Corps has used D9 bulldozers since the 1960s (including in the Six Day War and Yom Kippur War), the D9 first rose to public attention in April 2002 during Operation Defensive Shield, later when D9s were used to demolish structures and shrubbery, and through involvement in such incidents as the death of Rachel Corrie.
Caterpillar Inc. does not manufacture a military version of the D9 per se, but the attributes that make the D9 popular for major construction projects make it desirable for military applications as well, and in this role - with Israeli modifications and armor - it has been particularly effective for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and later for the United States armed forces (the Marine Corps and the US Army) in Iraq.
Its armor allows it to work under heavy fire.
The Israeli Armored D9 — nicknamed Dooby (lit. teddy bear) — is a Caterpillar D9 tractor that was modified by the IDF and Israeli Defense Industries to increase the survivability of the dozer in hostile environments and enable it to withstand heavy attacks. The main IDF modification is the installation of an Israeli-made armor kit which provides armor protection to the mechanical systems and to the operator cabin. The operator is protected inside an armored cabin, with bulletproof windows to protect against bombs, machinegun and sniper fire. The IDF also developed an armor add-on to deflect RPG rounds. The fitted armor package adds roughly 15 additional tons to the production-line weight of the D9. As for many customized packages, individually modified D9s may be found with disparate features, such as crew-operated machine guns, smoke projectors, or grenade launchers. The heavy armor carried by modified D9s allows them to work under heavy fire in dangerous battle-zones and resist mine blasts. The Israeli armor kit has proven to be effective, as no D9 operator was killed during the 4-year long al-Aqsa Intifada.
The Israeli Engineering Corps uses the D9 for a wide variety of engineering tasks, such as digging moats, clearing landmines, mounting sand barriers, building fortifications, clearing terrain obstacles and opening routes to armored fighting vehicles and infantry. On Yom Kippur War the D9s took part in the breaching of the Suez Canal, enabling Israeli forces to go through the canal and surround the Egyptian 3rd Army. In the northern front an Israeli D9 opened a route in the snow to elite infantry forces. It was the first ever motorized vehicle to reach the highest peak of Mount Hermon. One of the D9's primary roles is to clear landmine fields and booby-trapped areas. It can do it either by the regular heavy blade or by specially-designed mineplows attached in the front.
In urban warfare and counter-terror operations, the D9s has also been used in standoff situations with armed opponents barricaded in buildings, usually rigged with explosives and booby-traps, when no hostages are present. In order not to risk Israeli soldiers, the D9 shakes the house until the barricaded gunmen surrender. After the building is evacuated, the D9 razes the structure in order to detonate and bury any explosives that remain inside. Hamas chief bombmaker and the plotter of the Passover massacre, Case Aduwan, was killed in April 7, 2002, after he was tracked by the SHABAK and the YAMAM and a D9 destroyed the house he was hiding after heavy exchanges of fire. In Hebron, the IDF used the armored D9 to stop the local Hamas leader, Bassal Qawasameh, who shot at the D9 with machinegun, but was killed when the D9 demolished the house where he was hiding. One year after, Imad Qawasameh surrendered to IDF forces, after a D9 started demolishing his house. Armored D9 bulldozers have demolished many structures in Rafah,Gaza strip during battles with militants and operations to uncover smuggling tunnels.
The destruction of hundreds of structures in Rafah is a highly controversial issue. The Israel Defense Forces claim that the destruction of buildings and tunnels is a security necessity and that most houses destroyed were used for terrorist activity. However, Palestinians and human rights groups claim that the destruction has left thousands of people homeless, and is done systematically in order to create a cleared "buffer zone" between Rafah and Philadelphi Route. Protests against this destruction have caused further controversy, through such as incidents as the death of civilians such as Rachel Corrie. According to the Jewish Voice for Peacegroup whose goal is to prevent selling of Caterpillar equipment to Israel) "since 1967 Israel has used Caterpillar bulldozers to demolish nearly 9,000 Palestinian homes, leaving more than 50,000 people homeless. Since the outbreak of the Palestinian uprising in September 2000, Israel has razed the homes of 12,737 Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In the past two years the Israeli army deployed Caterpillar bulldozers to uproot 200,000 Palestinian olive trees."
Human Rights Watch has published a report criticizing the mass demolition in Rafah, in which it argues against many of the IDF's justifications for the destructive activities carried out by D9s. HRW supports Palestinian claims that the existence of tunnels in Rafah is simply being used as a pretext to demolish homes in order to create a "buffer zone". HRW believes that instead of using available and effective technologies for neutralizing tunnels where they cross the border, the IDF is instead undertaking unnecessary and highly destructive incursions into the camp. HRW's report also contends that the extensive destruction of roads, water, and sewage networks by D9 bulldozers is not plausible as an antimine technique, as most of the destruction is wrought using the rear blade of the bulldozer, which would do nothing to protect bulldozers from improvised explosive devices. Instead, HRW claims that the IDF destruction of roads, utilities and civilian structures is vindicative, punitive and illegal. HRW has called on Caterpillar Inc. to suspend sales of D9s and related parts and services to the IDF so long as illegal demolitions continue.
The Israeli position regarding operation Rainbow described Rafah as the "Gateway to terrorism". The IDF stressed that "... the IDF traditionally does its utmost to avoid harming the civilian population. It employs infantry forces whenever possible – as opposed to air or artillery strikes – to minimize the possibility of doing unintentional harm. At times, this humanitarian concern comes at the price of risking the lives of soldiers – two of whom were killed last week by Palestinian snipers while helping an elderly woman get food" and claimed that most demolitions are carried out against houses which are used by terrorists to shoot at IDF forces, and were approved by the Israeli Supreme Court of Justice: "Even though these demolitions were the direct result of terrorist activity – and were thus the responsibility of the terrorists themselves – 46 Palestinian families involved exercised their right to appeal the demolitions to Israel’s High Court of Justice this week. In ruling to allow the demolitions, the court noted that they were permissible due to the overriding need to protect the lives of Israelis."
Both military armored D9s and civilian non-armored D9s are being used by Israel's Ministry of Defense in the building of the Israeli West Bank barrier. The main D9 contributions to the project are earthmoving and soil-leveling, clearing a path for the security fence, and digging trenches in front of the security fence.