Netanyahu Criticized for 15 Years of 'Closing Eyes' to Hamas Threat

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that the October 7th Hamas attack would not have occurred, or at least not on the scale witnessed, had he been awakened on the night of the assault. However, the author argues this hypothetical question distracts from a more critical one: why Netanyahu allegedly "chose to close his eyes" to the growing Hamas threat for 15 years while leading the government. This period, the article contends, was marked by a policy of containment, characterized by measured responses and attempts to buy quiet, despite repeated provocations from Hamas, including building fortifications, launching rockets, and burning fields in the Gaza border region.

The author recounts the sensory experience of the aftermath of October 7th, emphasizing the pervasive smell of death in the Gaza border communities, suggesting that those who did not experience it cannot fully understand the lingering trauma. This trauma, the article explains, makes residents hyper-vigilant to current threats, such as incendiary balloons, which evoke memories of the first such balloon that landed in a field near Kibbutz Kfar Aza years prior, a precursor to the larger devastation.

The piece criticizes the repeated downplaying of threats, citing the example of incendiary balloons launched in June that were dismissed because they lacked explosives, a response reminiscent of the approach before October 7th. The author quotes Netanyahu's past statement that in a democracy, the military is a tool to implement government policy, implying the Prime Minister bears ultimate responsibility for the perceived failures in addressing the Hamas threat over the years. The article concludes by reiterating that the crucial question is not why Netanyahu wasn't awakened on one specific night, but why he allegedly remained willfully blind to the escalating danger for over a decade.