WhatsappGaza’s security barrier was hailed as a defensive masterpiece. Costing between $833 million and $1.1 billion, the barrier was finished in March 2021 and replaced the old wall, which was attacked successfully multiple times and offered no defense to Hamas’s tunneling operations. After the 2014 war with Gaza Jihadists, Israel located 32 such tunnels and promptly destroyed them.
Due to the tunnel situation and the antiquated nature of the original Gaza border fence, Israel built the current hi-tech smart fence. Unfortunately, over the past few years, the IDF upper brass relied too much on its hi-tech nature and began to disregard traditional military defense strategies.
With the IDF finding extensive maps on dead Hamas fighters that showed how the terror group was able to achieve operational success through carefully studying Israel’s defensive structures as well as having clear information of the layout of every community and where maximum amounts of civilians would be located.
Hamas used drones to destroy key surveillance and communications towers along the border with Gaza, This created an array of blind spots for the Israeli military. Using explosives and tractors, Hamas fighters blew open gaps in the border wall. This allowed 200 attackers to come through in the first stage of the attack. 1800 fighters came through later that day. The Hamas fighters moved quickly into Israel and overtook at least eight military bases and stormed more 15 Jewish communities – perpetrating a pogrom against their residents.
Security officials are shocked that Hamas had such intimate knowledge of the wall and its security levels and bases. But they shouldn’t be.
The Calcalist interviewed Yossi Langotsky (89). He “is one of the top geologists in Israel and the one who led the discovery of the Tamar gas field.” He states clearly that he is not shocked at Hamas’ ability to break through the wall.
“For 15 years I have been warning about the problematic nature of the checkpoint system on the Gaza border, but no one listens,” he said. “In the positions I held, I did not deal with the fence that surrounds Gaza, but my prolonged dealing with the problem of the tunnels led me to several conclusions, the first of which – that the construction of the fence was a fundamental mistake.”
“The mistake is that whenever you have a solution that is relatively easy to implement (dig a 15-meter-deep trench and put up a fence in it, it’s not a complicated thing), it tempts people to believe that they have a solution. But there is no barrier that cannot be outsmarted. There will always be mind games here. This massive fence was built under the watchful eyes of Hamas, who saw every action and examined to what depth the barrier was being lowered into the ground. It was clear that they were studying the project, and all they needed was to find a way to be clever about it. Therefore, in my eyes, this is a blunder along the lines of the Maginot line.”
The blunder of relying on such a wall went all the way to the top. At the completion of the Gaza border wall, it was none other than then Defense Minister Benny Gantz who said: “The barrier, which is a first-rate technological and creative project, deprives Hamas of one of the abilities it tried to develop, and places an iron wall between it and the residents of the south. This wall provides a sense of personal security that will allow this beautiful region to continue to grow.”
As eyeopening as the above is – it does not answer how Hamas had unusual access to intimate details of the bases themselves. Surprisingly, the IDF leadership often employs Arabs from the Palestinian Authority and even Gaza to fix bases. One such incident was reported by Channel 14 in July of this year:
“Arab residents of the Palestinian Authority went in to renovate a classified base in the center of the country
While the workers were working in the base area, the fighters were asked to shut themselves in a closed area since they serve in a special unit. A source in the unit: ‘This is a sensitive base located in a complex area, there is no reason for them to work here at this time. The fighters should not feel fear and worry that their identity will be revealed.'”
Since we know that the Gaza Barrier had six meters of reinforced concrete above the ground and more underneath, then one should assume that the workers used to build such a thing as well as the secret bases underneath it were most probably either PA arabs or Gazan arabs.
Why make that assumption?
Because the only construction workers that deal with poured concrete structures in Israel are either PA arabs or Gaza arabs – no one else is used. Since the IDF has no issue using arabs to fix up classified bases – it really isn’t a stretch to assume they used the very enemy the base was suppose to guard against, to build it.
Hubris, narcissism, and weakness all contributed to loss of life we witnessed the past eight days. Ultimately, we cannot continue to allow an enemy populace to exist in the Land of Israel, let alone employing them in building and repairing the very defense structures meant to guard us. The Haganah itself only offered to defend Jewish villages if they agreed to only hire Jewish laborers. In today’s woke culture – this would be seen as racist. It is not about racism. It is abiout securing our land and our lives.
