IOF Oct. 7 failure investigation jeopardized by Halevi's bureaucracy

By Al Mayadeen English
21 Mar 2024 14:57
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Israeli military correspondent Amir Bohbot says that the IOF Chief of Staff's promotion rounds have jeopardized the integrity of the investigation.

Israel Occupation Forces Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi after his transition ceremony with the Prime Minister, Defense Minister, and the outgoing chief, in occupied al-Quds, Monday, January 16, 2023. (AP)

The military correspondent for the Israeli Walla! website, Amir Bohbot, revealed that investigations regarding the events of October 7 are still ongoing.

However, Israeli officers who were involved in the security failure at the time of Hamas' operation are being promoted, jeopardizing the credibility of the investigation. According to Bohbot, the upcoming phase "will witness the promotions of several officers and the demotions of others, which have not been revealed by Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi."

Israeli media had also reported extensive recruitment missions Halevi carried out, appointing 52 new officers. Two of whom had been given sensitive positions directly related to the war on Gaza and the security and military failure on October 7: An Intelligence Officer of the Southern Command of the "Army", and Head of the Coordination and Liaison Department responsible for bringing aid into Gaza.

This came after the Israeli military and the Shin Bet decided to launch an investigation into who had been responsible for "Israel's" security failure on October 7, and the foundering that followed.

In this context, former Reservist General Itzhak Brik pointed out that "The Chief of Staff has been isolated, silent, and at a loss of control of the ground for a long time, so he began appointing colonels and lieutenants in his likeness and image."

He said that this in itself is a scandal and "the most dangerous failure" since the establishment of the Israeli military. Instead of claiming responsibility for his actions, Brik said, the Chief of Staff decided to reinforce the generation of chaos that he heads with the brigade officers, who share this failure with him.

A target of criticism

Just a few days ago, Israeli far-right Finance Minister and key member of the ruling coalition, Bezalel Smotrich, blasted Halevi in an interview for Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 on Sunday, drawing an onslaught of criticism for his stark remarks.

Smotrich held Halevi responsible for the occupation's failure to prevent and circumvent Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7, 2023, saying that the top commander "brought [Israel] one of its greatest disasters."

"This IDF chief of staff brought us one of the greatest disasters in the history of the country," Smotrich told Channel 12, adding, "It isn’t just that [Halevi] failed on the 7th of October, it is a long-standing failure."

In an article for Maariv, Brik also slammed Netanyahu and Halevi, saying they were leading "Israel" nowhere, to a dead-end, and exerting the most effort to weaken the occupation. He described the Israeli seniors as "rusty, headless nails in Israel’s body, and there is no way to remove them."

"These people brought upon us the worst hell on earth in the history of Israel, and are paving our way to the next hell without strategic thinking or rationality."