The investigation by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) into the Hamas attack of October 7th 2023 focused, naturally, on the military aspects of the incident. Published on Thursday, the report found that the capabilities of Hamas were drastically underestimated. But while the army and the intelligence branches are, belatedly, investigating their roles in Israel’s greatest ever disaster, the political echelon continues to deny responsibility.
Former defence minister Moshe Yaalon said the IDF’s investigations do not negate the need to form a state commission of inquiry, headed by a retired supreme court justice.
“When the political echelon doesn’t take responsibility, we’ve got a problem here. And that’s what’s being ignored. There’s an entire layer that’s missing,” he said. “It can’t be ignored that the government came along with a policy: Hamas is an asset; the Palestinian Authority is a liability; Hamas needs to be strengthened. They believed that the Qatari funds [for Gaza] had bought peace and quiet. Didn’t that radiate downward?”
The policy of divide and rule and strengthening Hamas in Gaza over the years as a barrier against a unified Palestinian state is only one element of the political echelon’s responsibility.
[ Israeli military underestimated Hamas, says report on October 7th attacksOpens in new window ]
Another was the prevailing way of thinking: Hamas is deterred and does not seek conflict.
Intelligence assessments and real-time indications – including, critically, on the night of October 6th – that went against this conventional wisdom were downplayed or dismissed outright.
The government’s judicial overhaul in the year preceding the Hamas attack also played a role in convincing Israel’s enemies that it was vulnerable.
Opponents said the overhaul would weaken the judicial system and undermine democracy. Chaos reigned and army reservists threatened to ignore call-up orders in response to the perceived assault by the government of Binyamin Netanyahu on the judiciary. Top generals tried to warn him that combat readiness was being undermined.
The government has consistently opposed the establishment of a state commission into the events of October 7th. Initially it was argued, with some justification, that such an inquiry could not be conducted while Israel was at war. But following the ceasefires with Hizbullah and Hamas that argument is no longer valid.
In response to a number of petitions demanding a state commission of inquiry, the high court this week granted the government 90 days to update the court on why it opposes such an investigation.
Coalition politicians, off the record, admit such a move would spell the end of Netanyahu’s political career. He believes he will never get a fair hearing from such a body. Netanyahu has a deep distrust of judges, viewing them as a bastion of Israel’s left-wing elite, determined to topple him from power.
As an alternative, parliamentarians from Netanyahu’s Likud party are proposing a political commission of inquiry with less rigorous powers.
