Judicial overhaul conflict likely influenced Hamas attack, IDF says
Mike Brest
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The domestic turmoil in Israel over the government’s proposed judicial overhaul plan likely contributed to Hamas’s decision to carry out the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks, Israel Defense Forces spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari suggested.
“Regarding the question of what caused Hamas to launch its attack on Oct. 7 — things will be clarified in the in-depth inquiry,” Hagari said in a briefing on Monday night. “But the answer is that, presumably, the feature of a rift … is one of the features that is linked to this.”
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His comments came hours after the Israeli Supreme Court struck down the law aimed at limiting the court’s power over government decisions. The proposed reforms, as promoted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, sparked months of protests throughout the country.
Netanyahu’s Likud party condemned the court’s decision, saying it was “in opposition to the nation’s desire for unity, especially in a time of war,” while opposition leader Yair Lapid said, “Today, the Supreme Court faithfully fulfilled its role in protecting the citizens of Israel.”
Merav Michaeli, the outgoing leader of Israel’s center-left Labor Party, described the court’s decision as a “victory for democracy” at a news conference on Tuesday. She said the law had “a lot to do with the war” because “the No. 1 motivation” of Israel’s extreme right and settlers was to be able to do “whatever they want to do” in the occupied West Bank.
The prime minister, whose coalition government includes more conservative factions than his previous terms, has faced significant criticism from Israeli society for pushing the judicial reforms and for the possibility that it could have allowed Hamas’s attack to take place.
Netanyahu has largely deflected blame for the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks that resulted in the deaths of roughly 1,200 people in Israel, the vast majority of whom were civilians.
“I’ve already addressed that many times. And I said this whole question will be addressed after the war,” he said on CNN in mid-November. “Well, I said that I’m going to answer all the questions that are required, including the questions of responsibility. There will be enough time for that after the war. Let’s focus on victory. That’s my responsibility now.”
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Several other Israeli officials have accepted their responsibility for the attack.
IDF chief of staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi; military intelligence chief Aharon Haliva; Ronen Bar, director of the Shin Bet intelligence agency; Defense Minister Yoav Gallant; his predecessor, Benny Gantz; and former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett all did.