JERUSALEM: The Israeli military announced on Monday that the chief of intelligence has resigned, taking ownership of the mistakes that enabled the deadly attack on Israel on October 7th, spearheaded by Hamas.
A number of senior Israeli commanders, including 38-year veteran Major General Aharon Haliva, claimed they were unable to predict or stop the bloodiest strike in Israel’s history.
“Under my leadership, the intelligence division fell short of the assignment assigned to it. In a resignation letter made public by the military, he stated, “I have carried that black day with me ever since.”
He will hold this position until a replacement is chosen. Commentators and the Israeli media anticipate further resignations when the main military operation in Gaza concludes.
US suggests punishing an Israeli military unit for mistreatment in the West Bank
The attack on October 7 severely damaged Israel’s military and intelligence services’ credibility, which was previously thought to be practically untouchable by armed Palestinian organizations like Hamas.
Thousands of fighters from Hamas and other factions smashed over security barriers surrounding Gaza in the early hours of the morning, stunning Israeli authorities and tearing through neighborhoods in southern Israel. This came after an intense missile fire.
According to Israeli estimates, the strike claimed the lives of some 1,200 Israelis and foreigners, the most of whom were civilians. Approximately 250 of them were captured in Gaza, where 133 of them are still held as hostages.
In the wake of the attack, both Lieutenant-General Herzi Halevi, the chief of the military forces, and Ronen Bar, the head of the domestic intelligence organization Shin Bet, acknowledged culpability but remained in their positions as long as the conflict in Gaza persisted.
In contrast, polls show that the majority of Israelis hold Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accountable for not doing enough to stop or protect against the October 7 incident, even if he has not acknowledged responsibility for it to date.
Following the attack, Israel began an offensive against Gaza that, according to local health authorities, has killed over 34,000 Palestinians and destroyed the heavily populated enclave.
US penalties
The Israeli prime minister fiercely criticized the proposed US sanctions against an Israeli military unit as “the height of absurdity” due to claims of human rights violations in the West Bank.
When questioned by a reporter in Italy over claims that his department had suggested cutting military supplies to an Israeli unit involved in violent episodes in the West Bank, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken alluded to such actions.
Blinken stated that his government was looking into a legislation that forbids providing military support to foreign security forces who violate human rights without consequence, but he did not elaborate.
“I think it’s fair to say that you’ll see results very soon,” he continued. I’ve made decisions, which you should see in the coming days.
The State Department ordered embassy employees in Israel to look into claims that the army’s ultra-Orthodox Netzach Yehuda unit had mistreated people in the West Bank towards the end of 2022.
This included an event in January 2022 where a Palestinian American, at 78 years old, passed away from a heart attack while in detention.
PM Netanyahu became enraged at the idea of imposing any punishment on Israeli forces, despite the fact that the accusations came before the Hamas attacks and Israel’s counteroffensive in Gaza.
He wrote late on Saturday on social networking site X, “I have been working against the imposition of sanctions on Israeli citizens in recent weeks, including in my conversations with senior American government officials.”
“The intention to impose a sanction on an IDF unit is the height of absurdity and a moral low at a time when our soldiers are fighting the monsters of terror.” The administration I lead will use every available tool to thwart these initiatives.
Yoav Gallant, the Israeli Defense Minister, also denounced the prospect of sanctions following a meeting with Army Chief Herzi Halevi.
“To withdraw its intention to impose sanctions” on the unit, he pleaded with Washington.
According to three US officials with knowledge of the situation, as published by the Axios website on Saturday, Blinken was anticipated to declare sanctions against the battalion “within days.”
