“Israel has a tradition of commissions after big fail- ures — 1967, 1973, Sabra and Shatila,” Shoshana Bryen, senior director of the Jewish Policy Center, told Newsmax. “Unlike U.S. congressional committee hearings, these are serious things and people inevitably resign.” Bryen is a widely respected commentator on Israel, and for two decades led field trips to Israel for retired U.S. flag officers. “Bibi will likely resign as
well — as he should,” she add- ed. “There are huge questions about how much Israel knew about Hamas tunnels and weapons, and why they didn’t do anything about them.” Less than a month after
the Hamas attacks, however, information began to appear in the Israeli media that miti- gated Netanyahu’s personal responsibility in the eyes of the public. For starters, Netanyahu
KENNETH R. TIMMERMAN
himself reminded voters that he had twice called for an all- out invasion of Gaza in 2019 but was turned down by the Israeli mili- tary.
Then came a
Timmerman is a senior fellow at the America First Policy Institute, where he writes about Israel, Iran, and the broader Middle East conflict.
60 NEWSMAX | JUNE 2024
devastating col- umn by national security commen- tator Caroline Glick examining the role of the then-commander of Israel’s mili- tary intelligence, Maj. Gen. Aha-
ron Haliva, in ignoring what appeared to be actionable intelligence flowing up from his subordinates on Hamas’ military preparations. Specifically, Glick charged,
Haliva and/or his subordi- nates:
Dismissed intelligence from
a border watch unit that re- ported Hamas was conducting training exercises to take over kibbutzim and Israel Defense Forces bases in the weeks be- fore the attacks. The watch unit also observed Hamas ter- rorists practicing taking hos- tages and blowing up tanks. Dismissed intelligence that
Hamas operatives were prob- ing the border fence for weak- nesses. Warned top-level officers in
the intelligence corps to stop reporting on Hamas training exercises or face disciplinary action. Fired a civilian cybersecurity
expert who had penetrated the communications and cyber networks of Hamas training units and seized his equip- ment. Ordered the IDF’s 8,200 sig-
nals intelligence unit to stop monitoring Hamas commu- nications months before the attacks. Haliva resigned on April
UNDERGROUND WAR Israeli troops move through a tunnel they captured under a hospital in Gaza, one of hundreds dug by Hamas to hide weapons, terrorist fighters, and some of the hostages seized on Oct. 7. The Israelis believe still more tunnels exist under the southern city of Rafah, which are still being used to smuggle men and materials from Egypt.
22, as an internal investiga- tion got underway. “The Intelligence Direc-
torate under my command did not fulfill its task,” he wrote to the IDF chief of staff. “I have carried that black
day with me ever since, every day, every night. I will forever bear the terrible pain of the war.” Haliva is not the only one
who will bear responsibility for the intelligence failures before Oct. 7. The IDF intel- ligence directorate is actively reviewing the actions of its officers before the attack and during the massacre itself. According to The Times
of Israel, “Each unit com- mander in the directorate is probing its actions based on questions determined by the general staff” to see what in- telligence they had, and why they discounted it.
MASSACRE WARNINGS Not all of the information was classified, longtime Israeli- American investigative report-
P.58-P.59: IRON DOME/EYAD BABA/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES/ HOWITZER/JACK GUEZ/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES NETANYAHU/KENA BETANCUR/GETTY IMAGES / ISRAEL FLAG/ANTON LITVINTSEV©ISTOCK
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