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Paul Craig Roberts
Institute for Political Economy
Perhaps My Speculation Was on the Mark
Perhaps My Speculation Was on the Mark
Paul Craig Roberts
On October 9, 2023, I posted this: https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2023/10/09/hamas-attack-on-israel-is-puzzling/
What follows purports to be a description of the impenetrable Israeli security barrier around Gaza written by a former commander of a section of the fence. Whether it is or not, the description of the security barrier provided can be checked. It seems impossible that Hamas could have succeeded in a surprise attack:
Here’s what commander of the Kerem Shalom Battalion, who knows the area in detail, wrote…
Something here doesn’t add up to me!!! This is a mystery that I can’t find an answer to.
I happen to know how things work in Gaza and on the border. I was the commander of the Kerem Shalom sector (Rafih), I was in charge of the Kissuf sector, I know the perimeter fence very well, I know how the army works there. I was in the Shatti refugee camp in Gaza, I was in charge of the Jibaliya refugee camp, I would make ambushes on the fence and deep in the area. I met Gazans, ate and breathed Gaza.
The obstacle is built so that even a fox cannot pass it:
Set alerts according to 3 levels of pressure. She must alert when she is cut. There are 24/7 forces that are responsible for arriving within a few minutes, if not seconds, to the point where there is an alert in the fence. Every day do at least one penetration practice. Each subdivision has a standby squad whose role is to increase the force in an emergency situation. Observations scattered along the border cover every inch of it. The female observers are champions in identification. They don’t miss. They detect movement even before it even approaches the obstacle – day and night.
At problematic points (dead areas) they place a tank with observation and detection capabilities, and a terrifying firepower. In some cases snipers are deployed in the field.
Every day before dawn there is a “dawn alert” procedure. At this hour all the forces are awake (in this case also the hour when hundreds of terrorists entered Israel). The night shift alternates with the day shift. The commander of each force inspects the axis to make sure there were no infiltrations during the night. Trackers that move on the axis know how to recognize traces. They know who crossed the fence, how much and even when.
Each scenario has a clear procedure. For example, a procedure for infiltrating terrorists, a procedure for taking hostages. Everything is written in blood and has been proving itself for years.
There are several other layers of security that this is not the place to talk about. In short, we are talking about an obstacle that proves itself for years and years.
So how the hell does a Palestinian tractor move towards the fence without anyone reacting to it?
How did the tractor manage to sabotage the fence for a long hour and open access to Israel without anyone reacting to it?
How did hundreds of terrorists and civilians cross the barrier without anyone on our side lifting a finger?
How did terrorists arrive on foot and in vehicles, armed from head to toe, to dozens of Israeli settlements, without any reaction from our side?
How did hundreds of terrorists stay in Israeli territory for long hours, shoot hundreds of Israelis, loot property, without there being even a single reaction on our side?
How did it happen that hundreds of terrorists kidnapped dozens of Israelis, surprised soldiers, officers when they were not ready, and kidnapped them to Gaza, without anyone stopping them?
How is it that one bullet was not fired?
How did all this happen under our noses?
Where did an entire division go?
Where did 3 brigades go?
Who swallowed 9 battalions?
What happened to 36 companies?
Where did an entire regular infantry brigade go that usually outnumbers the elite?
Where were all the reserve battalions that augment the regular army?
Where did thousands of soldiers go???
Someone here needs to provide explanations!!
In view of this description of the security barrier, this statement by the Israeli General Halevi admitting the failure of the Israeli Defense Force to protect Israel from Hamas is obviously intended as a coverup for the fact that the attack was allowed in order to close the book on Palestine. Since 1947 the world has done nothing to stop Israel’s absorption of Palestine, so naturally Israel expects no opposition this time. It looks like this is a miscalculation by Israel. https://www.rt.com/news/584770-idf-general-hamas-failed/