by Mati Tuchfeld
Channel 2 report backs Defense Minister Ya'alon's assertion that Israel has been working to combat Hamas terror tunnels for over a year, contrary to Naftali Bennett's claim that he initiated the plan to combat tunnels during Operation Protective Edge.
An IDF officer talks to
journalists during a tour on July 25, 2014 in a tunnel used by
Palestinian terrorists for cross-border attacks
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Photo credit: EPA  |
Contrary to recent claims, Israeli authorities
have known for a long time about the threat of terror tunnels, dug by
Gaza terrorists for the purpose of carrying out attacks in Israel, and
began confronting the threat in October 2013.
Channel 2 news revealed over the weekend that
despite what many currently believe, the tunnels did not take the
Israeli military by surprise during the recent Operation Protective Edge
in Gaza. According to Channel 2, the military began combating the
tunnel phenomenon more than a year earlier.
This information casts doubt on claims by
Economy and Trade Minister Naftali Bennett, who claims that he initiated
the plan to combat the tunnels during the operation. The report backs
Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon's and his associates' assertion that
Bennett's claims are in fact false.
• In October 2013 the defense forces
discovered the first cross-border tunnel dug by Hamas. On October 17,
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed the Israel Defense Forces
to formulate a plan to combat the attack tunnels.
• A month later, Netanyahu visited the IDF
Gaza Division and demanded a meeting on the topic of the tunnels. In
that meeting it was first suggested that Israel dig a moat along the
Gaza border to prevent terrorists from crossing into Israel underground.
Later that same month, during a tour of the IDF Southern Command,
Netanyahu warned that the proposed solutions were not adequate and
instructed the relevant officials to come up with additional ideas.
• On Feb. 9, 2014 security officials convened a
meeting. At the conclusion of that meeting it was decided to begin
action by drilling into the ground to locate the tunnels. A week later
the prime minister convened the cabinet and briefed the ministers on the
possibility that terrorists would try to infiltrate Israel through
tunnels.
• On March 12, while Netanyahu was visiting
the U.S., the Israeli prime minister met with the heads of NASA and
inquired whether the American space agency could offer any technological
solutions to the tunnel problem. Ten days later, Netanyahu convened a
security meeting in which he instructed defense officials to continue
researching the issue.
• During a cabinet meeting on March 26,
Netanyahu instructed the authorities to continue to focus intelligence,
operational and technological efforts on combating the tunnel threat.
• On June 12, three Jewish teens were
kidnapped in Gush Etzion. Two days later, the IDF launched Operation
Brother's Keeper in Judea and Samaria.
• On June 19, the first Hamas tunnel
collapsed. According to a Gaza security official, the tunnel, located
east of Gaza City, had been bombarded by Israeli jets and badly damaged.
It caved in when five members of the Qassam Brigades -- Hamas' armed
wing -- went inside, he said.
• On July 7, the cabinet announced the launch
of Operation Protective Edge. The prime minister outlined the objectives
of the operation, listing the obliteration of the tunnels as one of the
key objectives. He instructed the military to complete the plan,
already in motion, to locate the tunnels. Two days later, the IDF
Southern Command presented Netanyahu with a military plan on combating
tunnels. That day and the following day, Netanyahu spoke with world
leaders -- including the presidents of the U.S. and Russia, the German
chancellor, the British prime minister, the secretary-general of the
U.N., the prime minister of Canada and others -- and told them that in
order to eliminate the tunnel threat, Israel would have to launch a
ground offensive in Gaza.
• The following day, the cabinet convened
again, and Netanyahu announced the launch of a ground operation
involving the plan to eliminate the tunnels.
• On July 15, the cabinet accepted an Egyptian
cease-fire proposal. The prime minister and defense minister said that
the aim of the operation was to combat rocket and mortar fire and terror
tunnels. In Jerusalem, officials speculated that Hamas would not agree
to the cease-fire but Netanyahu and Ya'alon, seeking international
approval, agreed to it. According to diplomatic sources, even if Hamas
had agreed to that cease-fire proposal, Israel would still have
stipulated that the tunnel threat be eliminated as part of the
agreement.
• The cabinet meeting was held in the morning,
and despite the decision to agree to a cease-fire Israeli troops were
still preparing to launch a ground operation. That evening, Hamas
rejected the proposal and Netanyahu instructed the military to step up
the preparations for the ground offensive. The cabinet then authorized
Netanyahu and Ya'alon to order the launch of the ground operation.
• Two days later, IDF troops entered the Gaza
Strip. The following day, the cabinet authorizes Netanyahu and Ya'alon
to expand the operation. On July 23, the cabinet convened to vote on a
humanitarian cease-fire. During the meeting, Netanyahu announced that
the efforts to destroy the tunnels were ongoing.
• On July 27, the cabinet convened again.
Defense officials informed the ministers that the plan to destroy the
tunnels was on the verge of completion. The options presented at that
meeting were to withdraw the troops from the Strip or to expand the
operation and re-conquer the Strip. None of the ministers were in favor
of the second option. On August 5, the operation was completed and
Israeli forces withdrew from the Strip.
Last week, Bennett told Channel 2 news that
"when I initiated the operation, there were those who put on the breaks.
When I pushed, there were those who stopped. When I voted in favor of
the tunnel plan there were those who voted against, and wanted to
declare a cease-fire."
In response, Channel 2 military commentator
Ronny Daniel said over the weekend that "[Bennett's] claims simply
aren't true, to say the least."
Channel 2 presenter Rina Matzliah also touched
on the issue, saying that "there was no cabinet vote on the tunnel
operation. Bennett is manipulating [the truth]."
Bennett's office issued a statement saying that
"Minister Bennett has already agreed to an investigation into the tunnel
issue and to publicizing the transcripts from the meetings during
Operation Protective Edge. He stands behind his initial statements. The
question to which the Israeli public deserves an answer is whether there
were people who were willing to end the operation without eliminating
the tunnels."
Mati Tuchfeld
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=20277
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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