The Zionist entity’s domestic security agency Shin Bet acknowledged on Tuesday its failure in preventing Hamas’s attack on Oct. 7, 2023, saying that if it had acted differently the deadliest day in “Israel’s” history could have been averted.
The Internal Security Agency, as it is formally known, said that an internal probe “reveals that if the Shin Bet had acted differently, both in the years leading up to the attack and on the night of the attack … the attack could have been prevented.”
The acknowledgment comes days after an Israeli military investigation noted similar failings in protecting Israelis during the attack, which left hundreds dead and was followed by a devastating Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, where tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed.
In the opening lines of the summary of findings from the Shin Bet investigation, the agency’s chief Ronen Bar takes responsibility for failures, saying that “as the head of the organization, I will bear this heavy burden on my shoulders for the rest of my life.”
However, he added that in order to truly understand how the unprecedented attack was not stopped, there needed to be a broader probe into the role of the Israeli security and political elements and the cooperation between them.
According to the summary, the investigation focused on two key areas – the direct reasons that led to the Shin Bet’s failure to recognize the immediate threat from Hamas, and the developments preceding the attack.
It noted that “the investigation found no indication that the Shin Bet underestimated the enemy,” the Palestinian group Hamas.
“On the contrary, there was a deep understanding of the threat, initiatives, and a desire to neutralize the threat, particularly targeting Hamas leadership,” the summary said.
The investigation found that prior knowledge of a Hamas attack plan was not treated as an “actionable threat” and there was an overarching assessment that Hamas was more focused on “inciting violence” in the occupied West Bank.
Additionally, the investigation found that “a policy of quiet had enabled Hamas to undergo massive military buildup,” with financial aid from Qatar going directly to Hamas’s military wing.
In conclusion, the agency said in its summary, “the Shin Bet failed to provide a warning regarding the scope of the attack and the large-scale raid by Hamas”.
“The warning issued on the night of Oct. 7 was not translated into operational directives, and the response given by the Shin Bet … was insufficient to prevent or thwart the large-scale attack.”
Israeli media outlets disclosed on Monday more details from the probe into the military and security failure in face of the Palestinian resistance attack on October 7, 2023.
Source: Websites
