Israel, for the past week, has been privy to what should have been a behind-closed-doors discussion in what turned out to be a shameful display of disorganization and barely repressed rage.
It all began on Tuesday when the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) revealed its findings after an in-depth investigation into the causes of the October 7 massacre that left the country surprised and irrevocably damaged.
The investigation was, by and large, into the Shin Bet itself as an internal investigation. Indeed, the security agency took a significant amount of responsibility, which took up most of the report.
The agency said it had not warned about the impending invasion due to its misinterpretation of Hamas’s intentions, therein failing to adjust to the terror group as a sophisticated military entity and not as it was previously seen: a messy, dispersed extremist movement.
In addition, plenty of the criticism toward Israel’s defense systems was the focus on the West Bank when the Gaza border was the center of the massive attack, and indeed, the Shin Bet report recognized that it had believed the majority of the Hamas attack would be focused on the West Bank, therein creating a blind spot.
It also revealed the reason there was no response to the sudden activation of dozens of Israeli SIM cards: It was not the first time this has happened, and in previous cases, no attack occurred.
Netanyahu's coalition implicated
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition were implicated, insinuating that it was his policies toward sensitive subjects surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – prison conditions for convicted terrorists, Temple Mount visitation positions, as well as the controversial judicial reform – that led to Hamas’s invasion.
This came after Netanyahu and the coalition have been battling accusations of political blame for October 7, failing to take responsibility and instead pointing fingers at the Shin Bet, IDF, the former Lapid-Bennett government, and more.
KAN Reshet Bet revealed – after all of this came to light – that the prime minister delayed the establishment of the external committee that carried out the Shin Bet probe for four months. The report said the agency asked for more time to finish the probe, which was unfinished, but Netanyahu rejected the request and asked for it to be rushed to the point of presentation.
The Shin Bet added that although it has implemented vast changes in its policies, if there is no significant improvement in the interface between the political and defense echelons, another October 7 could occur.
Netanyahu immediately went on the offensive. His inner circle was credited with a statement specifically blaming Shin Bet head Ronen Bar for the handling of the October 7 response.
However, unlike the agency’s report, the statement attributed to the prime minister’s group said Hamas did not intend to escalate in any way. It claimed that Bar wanted to grant civilian benefits to Hamas in exchange for calm.
Ynet later cited Shin Bet sources as calling this a complete and utter fabrication.
This comes as Netanyahu has applied continuous pressure for Bar to resign, something the agency head has resisted until this point.
Shots were fired back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. In reality, this entire debacle has only brought about one conclusion with certainty: Israelis have whiplash.
This blame game has been going on for too long, and it has provided nothing but more panic and grief. The political echelon has done everything in its power to divert any attempts at blaming its decision-making, while the defense echelon is on the defensive, recognizing its own failures while begging the coalition to recognize that there were faults on that side, as well.
Ultimately, Israel does not need blame; it needs decisive changes in policy. It needs action.
We cannot have another October 7 on our hands. We cannot afford it. Those in charge are playing this silly game of badminton, the blame being passed back and forth like a dance, while Israelis are the net, just trying to get the game to end and for a clear response to take hold.
To those in charge: Get a grip. These are lives you’re playing with, and you’re treating it like a sport. If you truly cared, you would rear your egos back and implement change. Now.