Did Israel Deliberately Ignore Warnings Of An Attack By Hamas, To Enable Them To Destroy Gaza? – OpEd

Israel received numerous internal and external warnings and alerts of a forthcoming attack by Hamas during the months, weeks, and days prior to Hamas’ attack of October 7, 2023 that killed 1,200 Israelis.  The savagery and casualties in this attack provided Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu with the excuse and initial justification to launch a calculated war to destroy and depopulate Gaza, with the unified support of Israelis’, and virtually unlimited weapons, funding, and political coverage from the United States.

Israel’s intelligence and military sectors operate from within a contextual reality of being surrounded by enemies, who have a history of launching terrorist attacks and military strikes against Israel.  Given Israel’s permanent state of heightened monitoring for potential terrorist and military strikes, it’s improbable they could have ignored so many indicators and notifications of an attack coming out of Gaza during the first two weeks of October, unless Israeli officials dismissed them to achieve specific objectives.  

Allowing Hamas and its allies to carry out their brutal attacks that butchered 1,200 Israeli’s, most of whom were defenseless civilians, provides the far-right Zionist and ultra-nationalist Israeli groups with enhanced power to pursue their agenda of destroying and depopulating Gaza.  The right-wing groups strive to exploit the slaughter of Israeli citizens, to remove most of the Palestinians from Gaza permanently, so it can be repopulated by Israeli settlers and eventually annexed into the State of Israel, along with the West Bank.  This is one of the reasons the Israeli government continues its aggressive settlement program in the West Bank, while local Israeli groups harass and attack Palestinian residents in the West Bank and vandalize their homes and property.

This article provides information on many of the activities, indicators, and notifications that were dismissed or ignored by Israeli officials, along with additional reasons as to why this may have been a deliberate decision, instead of random intelligence failures.

The New York Times reported that Israel obtained a copy of Hamas’ October 7 battle plan and was aware that Hamas was planning to launch a major attack on Israel, more than a year prior to the deadly attacks of October 7, 2023.  Israeli officials were in possession of a Hamas battle plan – code-named “Jericho Wall” – that detailed a Hamas attack on Israeli communities near Gaza.  Many of the details and military operations in the 40-page document were the same ones used in the October 7 attacks, including the launching of rockets and disabling of security cameras, prior to about 3,000 fighters from Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other Palestinian groups pouring through the gates and multiple points along the border, attacking Israeli communities.

When the media asked questions about the Jericho Wall report, Israeli military and government officials declined to comment, claiming they had to focus on eliminating Hamas in Gaza.  Some officials said they might discuss it once the war was over, which Prime Minister Netanyahu said, will not be until July 2024 or later.  

Israeli officials claimed to be so focused on their extended war to destroy and depopulate Gaza that they cannot discuss stunning revelations.  At the least, this report – and numerous other reports and warnings – makes it appear that Israeli officials were negligent.  At worst, Israeli officials may have known of the imminent attack and allowed it to happen to maximize the carnage.  

Some Israeli officials dismissed the Jericho Wall document and ongoing reports of an imminent attack, while others ignored them or waited to get additional verification.  It can be argued that Israel may get random warnings about potential attacks, as an excuse for failing to initiate an alert, but it’s doubtful that any of the other “warnings” came as an explicit, detailed 40-page battle plan, reinforced by so many additional corroborating reports, warnings, and indicators, which are detailed in this article.

Several news outlets reported seeing videos on social media that were eerily similar to the events of October 7, 2023.  In the video, Hamas fighters staged a practice assault on Israeli guard towers, border gates, and communication and surveillance devices, followed by attacks on mocked up Israeli communities, buildings, and residents.

There were ongoing warnings during the months, weeks, and days prior to the attack, including some that provided specific details of an attack coming out of Gaza during the first two weeks of October 2023.  There were reports of Hamas using drones to try to knock out Israeli security cameras at the border and Hamas fighters training in large groups for a big attack.  Another report states that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) observed unusual activity by Hamas operatives on the day before the attack, but chose not to raise an alarm because they wanted to continue observing it, waiting for additional reports.  Israel’s ongoing warnings of the October 7, 2023 attack were reported by many print and electronic media outlets.

Duplicity by officials is common in military operations, and political and economic endeavors.  Ignoring warnings, enabling the carnage of October 7, 2023 helped justify Israel’s destruction of Gaza, as casualties mount.  As of February 12, 2024, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported 28,340 Palestinians killed and 67,984 injured.  Over 70 percent of those killed are women and children.  Many reports state 70 percent of the homes and 50 percent of the buildings are destroyed, and 85 percent of the Palestinians internally displaced, with some moving multiple times, due to bombs and attacks.  Disparities in reported casualties, destruction, and displacement occurs due to varied dates, methodology, and coverage.  

Gaza has a shortage of clean water, sanitation, and other essentials.  Open sewage flows through communities and refugee camps.  Disease and health issues, including upper respiratory infections and diarrhea, are ravaging Palestinians, especially children under five.  Health issues are compounded by crowded refugee camps.  Palestinians trying to flee the war have no place to go, and due to the massive Israeli bombing of nonmilitary targets, they’ll have nothing to go back to.  Chronic food shortages and starvation affects all of Gaza, while pampered, billionaire, Hamas leaders and their families, live in luxury and safety, abroad.

Prime Minister’s Benjamin Netanyahu’s Objectives in Gaza

Prime MinisterNetanyahu, right-wing Zionist leaders, ultra-nationalists, and other power brokers and influencers are strongly against a two-state solution that would create a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza.  This would disrupt their future plans to seize and absorb the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank to form an expanded State of Israel.

That’s the primary reason for the continued bombing and destruction of Gaza, which Netanyahu said would continue for six more months or longer, with the weapons and financing supplied by the United States.  Netanyahu launched “Swords of Iron,” his military campaign against Hamas, stating it would be a protracted operation, because he knew his real objectives were to destroy and depopulate Gaza.

Prolonging the war to remove Palestinians, while destroying most of the buildings, homes, and infrastructure in Gaza, encourages more Palestinians fleeing the slaughter and destruction to seek permanent residence in Egypt or elsewhere.  Palestinians will have nothing to come back to in Gaza, but ruins, hardship, misery, and memories of the relatives, friends, neighbors, and children killed, crushed, or crippled in the carnage.

Netanyahu’s ruse to continue the destruction of Gaza and the slaughter of Palestinian civilians is his claim that he is committed to destroying Hamas.  Netanyahu and his right-wing cronies know this is an impossible task, since the Israeli’s will not be able to kill all of the Hamas fighters and commanders in Palestinian territories, nor all of the new ones being created by the carnage, nor the top Hamas leadership living safely in other countries.  Additionally, Israel cannot stop the sources funding Hamas, which include wealthy Gulf States, and other states and individuals, in addition to Hamas’ expansive international portfolio of investments.  The continued Israeli carnage in Gaza will increase the donations to Hamas, as well as the new recruits and supporters.

Intelligence Operation or Double Agent

The New York Times reports, “The [Jericho Wall] plan also included details about the location and size of Israeli military forces, communication hubs and other sensitive information, raising questions about how Hamas gathered its intelligence and whether there were leaks inside the Israeli security establishment.”

There is a question as to how Hamas got these sensitive details.  Was it due to targeted monitoring and observations, careless or deliberate Israeli leaks, Hamas spies, or an Israeli double agent, posing as a spy for Hamas, supplying these details to Hamas to better ensure they launch the attack – and that it’s successful, bloody, and widespread – to justify a brutal and prolonged annihilation of Gaza to destroy and depopulate it.  

A surprising amount of information can be obtained from observations, conversations, and unclassified, open-source reports, articles, websites, and similar sources by skilled operatives, who know where to look, and have the knowledge and experience to extract selective pieces of unclassified information to create an insightful, detailed report about enemy activities and other issues.  These can be further enhanced from classified intelligence gathered through various methods, from HUMINT to SIGINT.

Was this sensitive information deliberately leaked to Hamas?  While unlikely, it’s possible, given the details obtained by Hamas, and the fact that many in the Israeli government, military, intelligence community, and population wanted Hamas to launch a successful, large scale terrorist attack, so Israel had an excuse to destroy and depopulate Gaza, enabling them to seize and resettle it.  This level of aggression from Hamas could also be used to counter international pressure for a two-state solution, which Israel will always oppose, because it would undermine their objectives of annexing Palestinian Gaza and the West Bank into an expanded State of Israel.

The Warning from Egypt

Ynet, an Israeli news website, reported that ten days prior to the October 7 attack, Abbas Kamel, Egypt’s Director of the General Intelligence Directorate, made a telephone call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, warning him that elements in Gaza were planning a significant explosive situation that would occur very soon.  Kamel shared information about the impending attack, as he and Netanyahu were familiar with each other from prior meetings and conversations.

Unnamed Egyptian officials told Ynet they were shocked by Netanyahu’s indifference to the news of Hamas’ potential imminent attack, and said Netanyahu told Kamel that the Israeli military was submerged in troubles in the West Bank.  What’s unknown is whether this indifference was due to distractions in the West Bank, his assessment of the sources and the accuracy of the intelligence, or he ignored everything, with the implicit understanding that an attack from Hamas would enable an Israeli response that could destroy and depopulate Gaza.  This would open up Gaza to Jewish settlers, who are part of Netanyahu’s base of political supporters.

When questioned about these reports, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu denied getting any advanced warning.  Netanyahu deflected these revelations by calling the reports “fake news.”  When Netanyahu was questioned about all the other reports of an imminent attack by Hamas that were ignored or dismissed by Israeli officials, he said these issues would be investigated after the war in Gaza is over.  This will not be until July 2024 or later, according to Netanyahu, allowing time for a cover-up and dismissal.

Michael McCaul, Chairman of the US House Foreign Relations Committee, said Netanyahu was warned three days before the attack.  The Associated Press and other news outlets also reported that Netanyahu and the Israelis were repeatedly warned about imminent attacks.  Other sources state that Netanyahu dismissed the warnings, claiming that the Israeli army was overwhelmed by problems in the West Bank between Palestinians and Israeli settlers.  Despite Netanyahu’s denials and deception, it appears certain that he received several advanced warnings of an imminent attack by Hamas.

The Shin Bet Fail

Ronen Bar, the Chief of Shin Bet, the Israel Security Agency, whose duties include terrorism related activities in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank, admitted that it received a specific warning about Hamas’ intentions from a human source two months prior to the October 7, 2023 attack.

As reported in Ynet, “Shin Bet received information from a human intelligence source two months before the Hamas massacre, warning that the terror group was planning something big for the week following Yom Kippur, which this year fell exactly one week before October 7.”  Actually, in 2023, Yom Kippur began at sunset, Sunday, September 24 and ended at nightfall, Monday, September 25, 2023.  Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, is one of the holiest days of the year.  Its specific date varies on the Gregorian calendar, occurring late September to early October.

Internal mistakes and mishandling by Shin Bet operatives are blamed for the failure to elevate and respond to this warning.  Reportedly, this information about a large attack by Hamas in the weeks after Yom Kipper was not passed on to top officials in Israel.  The excuse for not sharing it was that operatives felt if the report were accurate, additional reports would turn up.  An investigation of this case after the attacks, verified that the information came from a credible source, which did not require secondary verification, and should have been immediately passed on to superiors.  Another reason not to pass it on – or to have done so, but deny it – may be due to the decision to allow the carnage to occur, to achieve the objectives of destroying and depopulating Gaza.

Shin Bet operatives also detected suspicious activity in Gaza October 6, 2023, that indicated Hamas was preparing for an attack.  This was reported to their senior officials, who held several conferences that evening to determine what they knew, what it meant, and what they should do.  Axios reports, “IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, Shin Bet director Ronen Bar and Aharon Haliva, head of military intelligence, participated in some of these consultations.”

In spite of the looming threat, these officials decided not to issue an alert, notifying military and security forces along the border with Gaza of the potential for an imminent attack.  Instead, the officials chose to wait until they had additional information, before elevating the situation.  However, the next reports they got were that Hamas had launched massive attacks, as waves of Hamas fighters poured into Israel.  The Israeli border units, who were under attack, were finally alerted in real time by Hamas fighters.  These officials should be asked to further explain why they failed to raise an alert.  

Since the attack of October 7, Shin Bet has been interrogating numerous fighters from Hamas and other groups, who were swept up by IDF.  Shin Bet is likely pressing them for information about the attack, their network, location of officials, and other details.  

Reports of Hamas practicing the Jericho Wall Attack Plan Were Ignored

The New York Times and other media outlets reported that a few months prior to the attack of October 7, “…a veteran analyst with Unit 8200, Israel’s signals intelligence agency, warned that Hamas had conducted an intense, daylong training exercise that appeared similar to what was outlined in the blueprint.”  

The analyst, an NCO, was referring to the Jericho Wall attack plan that had been translated from Arabic to Hebrew.  Terrorists and military units practice for specific military operations to enhance preparedness, familiarity, and confidence to generate successful, seamless operations in the field.  This is especially effective when the specific layout and targets are known.  This was the case with the October 7 attack, based upon the battle plan, training, and secondary reports of Hamas’ successful intelligence gathering regarding their targets, and IDF positions and strength.

Israel’s Channel 12 television station reported the following translated conversation between Hamas members on the Hamas training video that the IDF analyst reported to her superiors.

“What is your situation, and what is the situation of your preparation. I am waiting for instructions from you so we can enter through their gate. We are in full preparation, waiting for instructions from you,” the NCO reported this in an email about training taking place for an attack.

According to Channel 12, the NCO also reported that high-ranking Hamas militants were talking about preparing to kill Jews.  Additionally, the NCO informed her superiors, “They are training, in large forces, for a big event. This is not a parade of power, this is preparation for the real thing,” indicating an imminent, large-scale terrorist attack.

Israel’s Channel 12 reported that the NCO told her superiors, “This is a plan with intentions to start a war.”  

In July 2023, a Colonel in Unit 8200, Israel’s signals intelligence agency, dismissed the analyst’s concerns, which had reportedly also been expressed by other analysts, who noted suspicious training taking place. 

The Spike in Short-Sale Stocks Should Have Raised Alarms

Numerous investors made millions of US dollars short-selling Israeli stocks prior to the Hamas attacks of October 7, betting their value will fall.  Many of these inside traders could have also anticipated that Prime Minister Netanyahu would launch a devastating and potentially protracted war in Gaza following the attacks.  This enabled investors to make additional money by buying specific stocks in the weapons and defense sectors, and similar sectors that could increase in value after the attacks.

Extensive, compelling evidence clearly indicates that some investors, who were active on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), had advanced insider knowledge of the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, including knowing the specific or approximate date when the attacks would occur.

Short-selling stocks is one of the ways to make a profit when the stock drops in value.  A short-seller borrows shares in a firm or fund for a fee, establishing a due date with the lender as to when the stocks have to be returned.  The borrower gauges when the price is high and sells these stocks at the current market price, anticipating and betting that the price will drop within the time period of the loan.  They hope to buy the shares back at a lower price within the allotted time, return them to the lender, and reap the profits they made on the difference in the share prices, less the fees.

Investors can make money, lose money, or break even in these transactions.  However, having inside information elevates these short-term transactions to virtual sure bets, with the only unknown variable being how much profit they will make on each share.  Inside information encourages speculators to invest more money, reaping huge profits within a few weeks.  There’s more to this, including gauging the most desirable time to borrow and return stocks, within a specific time frame to maximize profits.  Knowing the dates of a major terrorist attack simplifies this process.

Joshua Mitts, a Columbia Law School professor and Robert Jackson Jr., the former SEC commissioner and current professor at New York University School of Law, wrote a report titled, “Trading on Terror?” which claims some investors were aware of the imminent attack on October 7, 2023 by Hamas, and made enormous profits short-selling Israeli-linked stocks on Israeli and United States stock exchanges.  This 67-page report, published December 4, 2023, details irregularities on the TASE and NYSE, reflecting that some investors had advance knowledge of the Hamas attack and made exorbitant profits from the slaughter of Israeli men, women, and children.

In reading this comprehensive report one of the examples that stands out is the case of Leumi, one of the largest banks in Israel.  Short-share investors purchased an additional 4,429,390 new shares on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange in a three-week period between September 14 and October 5, 2023.  This was a 49.45 percent increase from the previous period (8,958,077 to 13,387,467), with the investors making $8.6 million dollars profit within a few weeks from these transactions, when Leumi’s stock price fell 8.79 percent on October 8, 2023, the day after the attacks.  

Some of these Leumi Bank transactions occurred around Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, which ran from sunset September 24 to after nightfall of September 25, 2023.  No work is to be done during this period, and much of this day will be spent in the synagogue.  Traditionally, the Israeli stock markets have lower trading activity on and around Jewish holidays.  However, Yom Kippur would have no impact upon Hamas leaders, cronies, affiliates, and “fronts” looking to cash in on their insider knowledge of the imminent attack, which accounts for the unusual spike in transactions.

Between September 14, and October 5, 2023, Generation Capital Ltd., an Israel-based Company that provides products and services, had a 58.81 percent increase in short-shares, with its stock falling 9.84 percent on October 8, 2023.  Stella Capital Real Estate Ltd. had a 56.86 increase of short-shares in the three-week period, with its stock falling 10.81 percent on October 8, 2023.  The stocks of some Israeli firms dropped more than 15 percent on October 8, 2023, reaping huge profits for short-term investors.  Block transactions in Israeli firms Short-Dated Options also generated substantial profits for informed, short-term investors.

In the week leading up to the October 7 attack, there were significant increases of investors betting against the Israeli economy, reflected in trading on TASE and NYSE.  So much money being bet on the expectation that the economy will suddenly and significantly diminish should have activated alarms of an imminent, terrorist attack, since that would be the most likely reason for stock prices to swiftly and sharply decline.

The report states, “…traders appeared to anticipate the events to come: on October 2, short interest in the MSCI Israel Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) suddenly, and significantly, spiked…short selling of Israeli securities on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange increased dramatically.”  The report notes the USSE had a sharp and unusual increase in the risky, short-dated options of Israeli companies expiring just after the attacks.  Some of the profits from these transactions could potentially be used to fund future terrorist attacks by Hamas and other terrorist groups.

In one of its findings, the report states that on October 2, 2023, investors’ short-sold 227,000 shares (99 percent of the total volume that day) in the MSCI Israel Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) that had an average of less than 2,000 short-sale shares per day.  This sudden, dramatic increase in short-sales on October 2, strongly indicates inside knowledge of an imminent, large scale terrorist attack that would drive down most stock prices.  MSCI Inc. is an international US finance company that was previously headquartered at 7 World Trade Center (WTC), New York City.  Building 7 is the smaller WTC building that collapsed during the attacks of 9/11.

The graph on page 13 of the report provides a stunning visual comparison, with the short sales of October 2 covering half a page, while short-sales on other days are barely perceptible.  The visual reinforces the striking abnormality that should have set off alarm bells that a terrorist attack was imminent.  The chart on page 23 shows similar spikes on April 3, 2023, when Hamas was planning a terrorist attack on the eve of the Jewish Passover, which was April 5, 2023.

Another significant fact provided by this report is the manipulation within the expiration dates of short-selling stock options.  Short-sell options have fixed deadlines as to when the stocks have to be returned.  The “Trading on Terror?” authors note that the demand for short-sell options expiring on October 13, 2023 – 6 days after the attack by Hamas – increased over 1,000 percent during the first week of October, while short-sell options after October 13, 2023 remained virtually unchanged.

This information is significant, due to the fact that not only does it indicate that a large scale terrorist attack against Israel in imminent, but it informs perceptive intelligence operatives and others that the attack will occur in October, before the 13th.  Monitoring the spikes during the first week of October, could have further reduced the probable date of the attack to within a few days.

These startling revelations – combined with all the other stock manipulations, warnings and reports – should have had Israeli Defense Forces, intelligence services, government officials, and others on high alert, knowing that a major terrorist attack was imminent.  Based upon stock exchange manipulations and all the reports Israeli officials received during the previous year, it was predictable that a large scale terrorist attack would be initiated by Hamas, coming out of Gaza, attacking the adjacent Israeli communities during the first 12 days of October 2023.  Saturday, October 7, 2023 would have been the most likely day from an operational perspective, because it was the Jewish Sabbath, a day of worship and relaxation that would be advantageous to the terrorists.

Some savvy inside traders will diminish their risk of detection and exposure by short-selling sectors, industries, or funds – broadening their investment portfolio – instead of targeting specific stocks.  

Shadow trading is another option for inside investors.  It involves many of the secondary effects of a significant event, from COVID to terrorists’ attacks that may disrupt and diminish earnings and investments due to declining economic indicators and increased uncertainty.  During these times, companies may postpone or cancel plans to expand, while families and firms may become more conservative and cautious with their spending.  Knowing or anticipating what will occur, and the ripple effect of how it will influence industries and individuals, enables investors to better predict what stocks and sectors will rise in value, and which ones will lose value.

How Inside Traders Could Reap Additional Profits

In addition to making enormous profits from the drop in stock prices, inside traders were able to reap additional profits by investing in stocks they projected would increase in value after the attacks.  These profits would be less obvious than short-selling, since they are making a positive investment that a stock price will increase in value – as the majority of investors do – rather than plummet or lose value in a short period of time.  Traditional stock purchases would not have to take place within tight time constraints of short-sales, enabling investors to stagger their advance purchases, as well as their post event transactions, making them less suspicious and less likely to be detected.

Some of these traditional inside trading activities – betting on a stock to increase in value – may initially generate a smaller percentage of profit, but they can produce substantial profits over time, as noted by many US Military Industrial Complex (MIC) stocks that increased over 1,000 percent during two decades of endless wars after the attacks of September 11, 2001.  The nature of these transactions makes them safer for terrorists and their associates, because they blend in and are less suspicious, causing investigators and monitors to overlook or ignore them.  Investigators have to be knowledgeable, experienced, and savvy enough to identify and inspect the multiple practices, ploys, and duplicity used by inside traders, especially when it involves a terrorist attack or similar incident.

Spotting Irregularities and Informing Authorities

Significant spikes in short-selling and other unusual transactions should have set off alarm bells that a significant terrorist attack was imminent.  Officials at the respective stock exchanges involved in these transactions should have noted these extreme irregularities and notified Israeli government and military officials.  If not, why not?

Who in the Israeli government, intelligence, and military sectors were monitoring or receiving information about short-selling and other irregularities in the stock exchanges?  What sectors and individuals were this information disseminated to?  Was this information investigated and acted upon?  If not, why not?

Top Hamas leaders – who have vast wealth and investments – would have known the dates of the attack, enabling them to make timely investments through their numerous shell companies and “fronts,” capitalizing on the financial windfall from the massacre.  Anyone else – Arab, Israeli, Iranian, or others – could have made significant profits if they had inside information or an expectation of the attacks.

When assessing stock manipulations and potential terrorist threats, there are several factors to consider if intelligence operatives have enhanced penetration of their target’s financial portfolio and accounts through their respective “fronts,” including relatives, associates, shell companies, and other filters.  If the United States, Israel, and other states are monitoring the financial portfolios and investments of wealthy Hamas leaders, they could have spotted numerous spikes in short-selling stocks, and spikes in the purchase of stocks tied to specific firms in the weapons and defense sector, along with other investments within sectors that would be affected by the attack.

These spikes indicate a major terrorist event is imminent.  One that can create a significant drop in stock prices in selective sectors, while simultaneously boosting stock prices in other sectors.  Noting which stocks are being manipulated can provide clues as to the type of event being planned, what factors are in play, where it might occur, the probable organization that will execute it, and additional details.  This information would have provided insight that an attack by Hamas was imminent, along with other details.

For example, a spike in the short-selling of airline stocks indicates a potential terrorist threat involves airplanes, though prior to 9/11, most analysts would suspect it involved destruction of the airplane via a concealed explosive device or surface to air missile.  In the case of 9/11, the excessive short-selling of stock in United Airlines and American Airlines indicated that a terrorist plot involving airplanes with these two specific carriers was likely in play.  If this was reported and acted upon, there could have been an enhanced focus on these two airlines on September 11, 2001, including passengers, luggage, cargo, routes, and other considerations.

A September 19, 2001 report by CBS News stated that alarm bells went off regarding the extraordinary number of trades on Monday, September 10, 2001 that were betting the stock of American Airlines would fall.  Over 360,000 shares betting the stock would fall were sold that day.  The price of American Airlines dropped 39 percent during the week after the attack of 9/11.  Similar trades were made betting United Airlines stock would fall, reaping enormous profits for speculators, when the stock price fell 42 percent during the week after 9/11.  These clear signs of an imminent terrorist attack should have generated enhanced screening of passengers on these two airlines, on 9/11.  This could have detected the hijackers’ weapons and prevented the attacks.

It would be worth knowing – and revealing – how many shares betting on United and American Airlines stock to drop in price were sold during the first ten days of September 2001, and who bought them, with special focus on people in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States, Israel, and the United States, looking for suspects who capitalized on their inside information prior to September 11, 2001.

Tel Aviv Stock Exchange Claims There Were No Irregularities

Yaniv Pagot, the head of trading at the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE), claims there was nothing unusual in short-selling positions at TASE during the two months before the attack.  He admitted the short-selling increase of about 4.5 million shares of Leumi Bank stock, but claims that nothing unusual occurred by stating that the stock was stable after the spike.  Pagot also dismissed or downplayed other irregularities documented in the “Trading on Terror” report, and expressed his confusion over theories and accusations made by the authors, implying they were unfamiliar with how TASE operated.

Pagot’s responses ignore several facts.  The short-selling noted in the report has a set window and firm deadlines in which transactions take place, so investors have to stay within those limits, eliminating the ability to spread the transactions over an extended period of time, especially when there is a set date for a terrorist attack or other event that would markedly reduce the price of stocks.  

Additionally, inside traders capitalizing on a terrorist event will want to make their trades close to the date of the event to avoid tipping off authorities of an imminent terrorist attack.  These traders do not want to provide additional time for spikes in these types of transactions to be spotted, flagged, and investigated, prior to the attack.  This could cause terrorist operations to be detected and deterred, and some investors to be apprehended and interrogated, revealing terrorists’ financial networks and more.  In the case of the October 7 Hamas attack, it could have put the IDF on high alert, neutralizing Hamas’ element of surprise, causing the terrorist attack to be cancelled or decimated.

This is why trading in these types of options would appear normal during most of a two month period prior to an attack, except for short periods of steep spikes in trades, especially within a few days of the attack.  TASE officials should know this, but their responses are focused on denigrating the report and deflecting blame from themselves.  Another point is that the increase in short-selling of Leumi was not an “insignificant amount,” as claimed by Yaniv Pagot, but an additional 4,429,390 new shares in a three-week period on a single stock.  This should have been flagged for investigation.

Additionally, Yaniv Pagot’s statement that the Leumi account was stable after this three-week spike, fails to consider the fact that the objective of insider, short-selling driven by a terrorist strike is to make the transactions before the event, so as to capitalize upon the diminished value of the stock after the event.  This would account for the “stability” of normal trading after the spike.  Inside traders are not going to invest after the attack takes place.  That would be a like having the winning numbers to a lottery drawing, but waiting to play them after the respective drawing has taken place.

TASE denounced the “Trading on Terror” report as being inaccurate and irresponsible, asserting the researchers did not understand the Israeli markets.  Their assertions were based upon the fact that in their initial report, the authors miscalculated the profits from short-selling, due to a misunderstanding of the currency in which share prices are listed. The researchers corrected this calculation as soon as they became aware of it.  

This mistake on the currency only modified how many millions of US dollars were made by inside traders on short-selling, it did not alter the number of stocks that were involved or the spikes that occurred.  The accusations by TASE are another diversion to discredit the report and distract people from focusing on the serious, scandalous activities that occurred with Leumi and other stocks.  TASE claims they did not catch or report these.

It’s understandable that TASE officials would try to discredit and dismiss this stunning report.  It is embarrassing and dangerous if the massive spikes in the short-selling of Leumi and other stocks were not flagged, investigated, and reported to IDF by TASE officials.  However, it’s ludicrous that TASE officials attempt to discredit all of the accurate, insightful, and verifiable statistics and research in this report over a currency conversion that does not diminish the quantity of short-selling or any of the other documented facts surrounding it, but only the amount of profits per share.

The Israel Securities Authority (ISA) claims they did not find any significant trading abnormalities in the days prior to the terrorist attack of October 7, 2023 that required them to initiate an investigation.  ISA officials also wanted to protect their image and diminish accountability by focusing on the researchers misunderstanding of the currency in which share prices are listed, noting the initial discrepancy in the millions of US dollars made by short-sellers with insider information of the imminent terrorist attack.  Again, this does not diminish the significant spikes in short-selling stocks, only the amount of the profits.  The denials of obvious irregularities by TASE and ISA officials’ may cause investigators to question their motivation for ignoring spikes that indicated an imminent terrorist attack, which they should have reported so an alert could be raised.

It would be useful to know the ISA’s interpretation of “significant,” since the TASE did not consider the short term spike of almost 4.5 million short-shares of a single stock to be “significant.”  Perhaps, ISA officials use the same dismissive tactics as TASE officials when it comes to acknowledging what is significant, if it involves something they should have caught and reported.  It should also be noted that Israeli stocks traded in the United States are reportedly not monitored by ISA.  Though less of a factor, there is also the issue of off-market trading to consider. These are transactions between two parties that do not go through the exchange or clearing house.

TASE and ISA Have Access to All of the Data Regarding Trades

The raw data and reports showing the respective spikes in the documented short-selling and similar transactions in the three-week period between September 14 to October 5, 2023 and other periods, is available for further analysis.  In addition to the regularly generated reports on trading activities, skilled investigators and programmers can access the data to generate additional insightful and compelling reports to better understand the investments and events surrounding the October 7 attack.  Some of the new or modified programs they develop can be programmed into the system to enhance the quality and responsiveness of indicators, improving the monitoring network to better detect irregularities and initiate alerts and reports that inform officials of prospective terrorist attacks or criminal activity, on a timely basis.

The “Trading on Terror” report of December 4, 2023 includes tables showing the name of specific companies and the respective Short Interest Shares sold between September 14, 2023 and October 5, 2023.  These tables also show the percentage of increase in selling during this three-week period and how much the respective stock fell – as a percentage – on October 8, 2023, the day after the attack.  This is hard evidence of significant irregularities, which TASE and ISA have access to, but claim reflects nothing unusual.  Deflection through denial does not change the facts, nor the failures to identify and report them on a timely basis.  However, it does indicate the need for changes at macro and micro levels of detection, reporting, and accountability.

How closely and frequently are ISA employees monitoring transactions, verses relying upon officials at TASE to report suspicious incidents?  Investigators should see what detection programs are in place, and what level of irregularities are required to set off alarms at TASE and ISA, since they both claim nothing was detected.  Their program records should be analyzed to see if alarms were activated, but dismissed or ignored.  Tests should be run to see if similar abnormalities in trading are being detected.

TASE and ISA should have a variety of programs built into their systems to flag irregularities, enabling timely alerts to officials.  However, since the large spikes in abnormal trading appear not to have been detected – or they were detected, but not reported by TASE or ISA – it would be useful for Israeli officials within Prime Minister Netanyahu’s circle, IDF, and the Intelligence sectors, along with TASE and ISA officials, to thoroughly review these systems, along with the manner and frequency in which they are updated to keep pace with market trends and evolving criminal activity.

The discovery of these irregularities in trading should not be dependent upon human monitoring and analysis of the data, exceptionally weak thresholds of detection, limited alerts, human failure, apathy, or delayed notification to authorities.  They also need a safeguard against human duplicity, providing alerts to multiple cells to stifle attempts of internal renegades and others to conceal irregularities and alerts.

The fact that TASE and ISA officials allegedly failed to detect and report any of the trading abnormalities taking place prior to the October 7, 2023 attack is at the least, unsettling.  It appears that TASE and ISA officials are looking to deflect accountability and scrutiny of their performance.  Their chorus is the same, claiming the researchers were confused.  There were no irregularities.  Effectively telling government officials, intelligence officers, investigators, and the public, “Move on, nothing to see here.”

Denials and distractions from TASE and ISA officials do not negate the fact that there are substantial records, charts, and reports that clearly and accurately detail significant insider trading prior to October 7, 2023.  To deny this is absurd.  It’s like a child covering their eyes with their hands and exclaiming, “You can’t see me,” to anyone around them.  There is a failure to address issues and correct problems throughout the network, from the distribution of reports by IDF analysts monitoring Hamas activity to officials at TASE and ISA monitoring and reporting irregularities, and on to the reactions of Israeli military, intelligence, and government officials, up to Prime Minister Netanyahu and his staff.

TASE and other exchanges need to install enhanced tracking that identifies terrorists and criminal cells, noting the name and locations of investors and their fronts, with special investigators to track the dissemination of revenues to the individuals and groups using fronts.  They need to track them long enough to uncover their financial networks, money laundering, and similar operations, eventually rounding up the suspects, engaging them to extract additional information and names, and freezing their accounts and assets, prior to courts awarding their wealth to reimburse losses to the states, the victims, and the survivors of their terrorists’ attacks and criminal activities.

Caveats to the Reactions of TASE and ISA Officials

In response to the report, the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) and Israel Securities Authority (ISA) said there were no irregularities in stock transactions prior to the attacks of October 7, 2023.  They also said, no investors profited from advance knowledge of the October 7 attacks.  At the least, this is a bizarre statement, since they would not know what prompted the motives of traders.  It also fails to acknowledge there was a highly irregular amount of short-selling in the period leading up to Hamas’ attack of October 7, enabling these investors to make enormous profits from short-selling.  It fails to clarify whether or not any officials at the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange notified ISA or other Israeli officials, and if TASE or ISA notified IDF and others of the unusually large spikes in short-selling as soon as they were aware of them.  The dates, times, and names of individuals passing or receiving alerts should be noted and interviewed.  

An additional caveat is whether there was an investigation to see if anyone employed or affiliated with the TASE or ISA – or anyone whom one of their employees informed of these unusual transactions – also participated in this short-selling frenzy, motivated by what they saw others doing, and figuring these investors had inside information.  It was like watching the odds suddenly change, following large bets on a fixed horse race.

Another caveat is whether TASE or ISA officials are protecting Israeli government, military, or intelligence officers, whom they reported the irregularities to, knowing these officials or sectors may have ignored or concealed the warnings, due to apathy, incompetence, or a desire to justify and launch devastating counterattacks in Gaza.

Everything is in play, as it usually is in matters involving greed, secret agendas, military and intelligence operations, and wars.  These considerations are more of a concern, due to the fact that many Israeli officials, powerbrokers, and influencers would like to drive the Palestinians out of Gaza and the West Bank.  Israel would take full control of these areas, maintaining a penal colony environment, but eventually enabling Israeli settlers to seize land, prior to annexing these areas into the expanded State of Israel.

These additional factors would be motivation for TASE and ISA to deflect and deny reports of excessive short-selling profiteering.  At the least, this is profiting from the carnage, at the worst, it’s criminal, if any officials in the chain – from TASE up to Prime Minister Netanyahu – withheld information that could have revealed and repulsed or averted the terrorist attack of October 7, 2023 that killed 1,200 Israelis.

Trading in Terror Prior to Passover

The Trading in Terror report of December 4, 2023 provides additional insights, beyond events surrounding the attacks of October 7, 2023.  The authors note there was another major spike in short-selling volume of EIS observed on April 3, 2023 that was higher than the October spike.  This indicates that a major terrorist attack was likely imminent, potentially using the 40-page Jericho Wall battle plan.  However, no attacks occurred.

Attacks were planned to occur on the eve of the Jewish celebration of Passover, which in 2023, began at sunset April 5 and ended at nightfall April 13.  Page 22 of the “Trading on Terror” report provides the following exert from the Times of Israel. 

“Hamas had initially planned its October 7 cross-border onslaught for the eve of Passover, but cancelled the attack after Israel raised the alert level, according to a Saturday report.  Military intelligence caught the early signs of an attack on Passover, which this year fell on April 5, and raised the alert, leading Hamas to cancel and the IDF to consider the incident a false alarm, Channel 12 reported, citing unnamed soldiers in the IDF’s 8200 signal intelligence unit.”

This information prompts four immediate questions:

1. Did some of the IDF dismiss or ignore the numerous warnings of the October attack because they mistakenly thought the April 2023 indicators were a false alarm, instead of an imminent attack that was cancelled, due to Israel raising the alarm level?

2. Given numerous indicators of an imminent terrorist attack in early October 2023, why didn’t Israel raise the alert level?  Who were the people or sectors dismissing the indicators and discouraging an alert?  What were their reasons to dismiss the warnings?

Significant indicators of imminent terrorist attacks – including the spike in short-selling stocks – occurred six months apart, not every week.  This should have encouraged IDF and others should to error on the side of caution by raising the alert level, rather than risk the carnage that occurred on October 7.

3. Is there additional evidence that other warnings and indicators of an imminent terrorist attack in October 2023 were ignored or dismissed?

Some people might speculate that warnings were deliberately dismissed due to the influence of far-right groups, who are against a two-state solution and would exploit savage terrorist attacks on Israeli citizens as an excuse to launch attacks to destroy and depopulate Gaza.  The far-right agenda is to drive out the Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank, flood these areas with Israeli settlers, and annex these territories into an expanded State of Israel.  Were these drivers discussed by some Israeli officials and influencers, who may have predetermined to let the next terrorist attack occur, as a means to justifying extensive retaliations that would achieve their secret objectives?

4. Did irregularities in the short-selling of Israeli stocks occur on other stock exchanges around the world?  If so, were they reported to local, US, or Israeli officials?

Israel Has Far-Right Drivers Similar to the PNAC Agenda

The Project for the New American Century (PNAC) was founded in the US in 1997 by William Kristol and Robert Kagan, whose wife is Victoria “Let’s Have a Coup in Ukraine” Nuland.  PNAC members included Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld, and other prominent US government officials and neocons, who advocated for a substantial increase in military and defense spending and the strategic conquest of other states.  The PNAC’s stated desire was to “shape a new century favorable to American principles and interests.”  The PNAC left off the fact that their agenda was favorable and highly profitable to a few, but detrimental to virtually everyone else in the US and around the world.  The PNAC advocated for regime change in Iraq and the attack of 7 countries in 5 years, including Iraq, Syria, Libya, and Iran, seizing virtual control of their oil fields and other resources.

PNAC members were clamoring for a Pearl Harbor type incident that would justify their wars of conquest and unify the country to support them.  They got it when 9/11 occurred and the Bush-Cheney Administration hijacked the post-9/11 patriotic fervor of US citizens to launch an unscrupulous and costly policy of Endless Wars.  Cheney and the neocons also pushed through the preemptively prepared US Patriot Act that eroded constitutional and civil rights in the United States, turning the US into a vile, stasi-like police state.  Cheney, Rumsfeld, and others repeatedly pushed unethical policies and needless wars for the benefit of a few, not for the security of the US or the benefit of its citizens.  The PNAC doctrine put US citizens more at risk from terrorists’ attacks and from unethical and unjustified US government stasi surveillance and harassment.

US General Wesley Clark discussed these facts during an interview with Amy Goodman, at DemocracyNow.org, as well as during other media interviews.  General Clark said, “About ten days after 9/11 [2001], I went through the Pentagon and I saw Secretary Rumsfeld and Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz.  I went downstairs just to say hello to some of the people on the Joint Staff who used to work for me, and one of the generals called me in.  He said, ‘Sir, you’ve got to come in and talk to me a second.’  He says, ‘We’ve made the decision we’re going to war with Iraq.’  This was on or about the 20th of September [2001]. I said, We’re going to war with Iraq?  Why?  He said, ‘I don’t know…’  So I said, Well, did they find some information connecting Saddam to al-Qaeda?  He said, ‘No, no…They just made the decision to go to war with Iraq.’  He said, ‘I guess it’s like we don’t know what to do about terrorists, but we’ve got a good military and we can take down governments…'”

“So I came back to see him a few weeks later, and by that time we were bombing in Afghanistan.  I said, Are we still going to war with Iraq?  And he said, ‘Oh, it’s worse than that.’  He reached over on his desk. He picked up a piece of paper.  And he said, ‘I just got this down from upstairs’ – meaning the Secretary of Defense’s office – ‘today.’  And he said, ‘This is a memo that describes how we’re going to take out seven countries in five years, starting with Iraq, and then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and, finishing off, Iran...'” 

Some states fabricate attacks or initiate False Flag attacks – attacking themselves or others – so as to blame it on their enemies.  This is done to justify illegal and needless military operations and wars.  For example, some officials in the US wanted to expand the war in Vietnam.  The Gulf of Tonkin incident of August 1964, in which the USS Maddox erroneously claimed schools of fish were multiple North Vietnamese torpedoes fired at them, gave President Johnson an excuse to expand the war in Vietnam.

President Johnson and others knew the truth about the incident, but lied to justify bombing North Vietnam and deploying over 500,000 US troops to Vietnam.  This US war generated billions of dollars in profits for the US MIC, while killing over 58,000 US soldiers, and about two million Vietnamese, Cambodians, and Laotians, with unexploded bombs still killing them.  Another example is the Operation Northwoods memorandum dated March 13, 1962, in which the US military Joint Chiefs of Staff drew up a plan for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to launch terrorist attacks in US cities and other operations, so they could be blamed on Fidel Castro, to justify a US military invasion of Cuba.

These, and similar events by the US and other states, can be researched via videos and articles on the Internet, and books from libraries, bookstores, and online vendors.  Due to most US media outlets and politicians being part of the US government’s massive propaganda and disinformation machine, citizens of the US and the world need to do their own research on issues and events to avoid being deceived and misled.

These examples are relevant, because of the secret agendas, greed, and lies of so-called honorable officials and reputable states, who deliberately initiate or provoke needless wars, including Iraq and Ukraine.  Many US officials have been guilty of this, as have officials in other states.  Perhaps, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and other influential Israeli officials and power brokers, were looking for their 9/11 opportunity to initiate a war in Gaza to achieve their far-right, nationalist objectives.

Analysis, Sharing, and Dissemination of Intelligence

In addition to the deceit carried out by states, there are flaws in the intelligence sectors of government, military, and contractor operations.  Given the numerous warnings and reports of an attack – in addition to deliberate dismissals – Israel, like many states, may have issues with the collection, processing, analysis and production, and dissemination and integration of intelligence reports on a fluid and timely basis.  All reports regarding potential attacks, including Human Intelligence (HUMINT), Signals Intelligence (SIGINT), Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT), Financial Intelligence (FININT), Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT), and other information should have come into central and regional command centers and been promptly reviewed and rated by competent, experienced people, who passed them on to proficient, knowledgeable supervisors.

There is a tendency for the various agencies, institutions and contractors spread among government, intelligence, and military sectors not to share information, creating “Blind Spots,” and eliminating the ability to build upon each other’s reports to provide enhanced analysis and reviews.  It also appears that most agencies and sectors fail to ensure that the majority of their employees and supervisors are sufficiently competent, experienced, intuitive, and skilled.  Too often, the people reviewing reports throughout the channels, lack the experience, expertise, and ability to operate at enhanced levels of comprehension, analysis, and performance that are required for these positions.

Core Traits and Compelling Capacity

People with specific knowledge, skills, experience, and traits are better able to analyze and interpret this type of information.  They have the capacity to spot things that others miss, from the significance and relationship of specific players, events, information, and reports, to subtleties that change probabilities, focus areas, and more.  Many of the supervisors and employees in US and other states’ government, military, intelligence, and contractor cells are average to mediocre slot fillers, who lack the core knowledge, experience, instincts, and capacity for enhanced contextual framing and the ability to identity and interpret a mix of significant to subtle indicators, drivers, and events.  

Skilled operators can see the kaleidoscope of colors reflecting the primary and secondary drivers and considerations, when others tend to lump everything as being black or white, in addition to what they ignore or fail to detect.  The quality of analysis can be further diminished by apathy, bias, personal issues, and other factors. 

The people receiving, screening, analyzing, and disseminating this information need the ability to grasp the deeper and obscured levels of what they are looking at and what it means.  They also need the ability to identify the subtleties that make specific activities, information, or events different from one another, when they appear to be all the same to individuals with less knowledge, skill, or experience at this.  Added to these calculations are the use of intuitive hunches, insight, and clarity of experienced operatives that goes beyond the limits of available information.  These are implicit, fluid traits that are capable of effectively and accurately absorbing and analyzing large amounts of information, relying upon their knowledge, experience, and intuitive processing, occasionally mixed with selective, secondary research.

Virtually all of this is done within the individual’s mind, with occasional verification of specific information that enable the reports to be further refined and interpreted.  There is simply too much in play to have to research each of the components. That would be like a man having to continually look up how to make bricks, when he is trying to build a house.  There is no time for this, and if it is required, there is likely a flaw in the capacity of the operator.  These deeper levels of analysis cannot be taught.  They are within the individuals, based upon their relevant knowledge, experience, instincts, and ability.  

Failure of government, military, intelligence, and contractor organizations to “know” what the most essential knowledge, traits and skills are for specific positions – and to ensure that their employees have these traits – is the primary reason for intelligence and operational failures that ignore, dismiss, or misinterpret information.  This causes obtuse neglect, inaccurate projections, and flawed responses that often compromise assets, alienate allies, empower enemies, obliterate opportunities, and undermine mission and policy objectives.  The emphasis should be on enhanced, top-tier quality, not quantity.

This is a significant problem for the US, due to the global deployment of troops, while obtuse leaders fail to grasp the benefits of keeping them rotating into specific theaters and locations, so the units can develop the knowledge, experience, and intuitive skills to be more successful.  Moving units around too much ensures most of them will operate at superficial levels of understanding, undermining their capacity and effectiveness.  The emphasis should be on deployments to specific theaters, which are further designated by specific countries and provinces.  This builds highly effective, cohesive units, with advanced experience, knowledge, and contacts, relevant to their respective post assignments and missions, instead of “tourist” brigades.  For more information on this, check out my article, “Afghanistan Counterinsurgency: The RIP/TOA Blues,” published in Eurasia Review on 22 April 2023.

This is less of an issue for Israel, since their primary focus is on contiguous states and regional players, enabling them to better achieve meaningful knowledge and experience within a specific theater.  However, there are still other issues to consider, including aptitude and assignments, to ensure enhanced levels of performance from analysts, intelligence operatives, and others, as well as the availability and sharing of reports.  They also need multiple monitoring of key information, with enhanced safeguards to better ensure that renegades and human errors cannot ignore or dismiss valid alerts.

Probabilities and Terrorism

In dealing with counterterrorism, counterinsurgencies, and other military and intelligence issues, there are many uncertainties and unknowns, prior to events taking place, so analysts, operators, and others focus on probabilities.  For example, what is the probability of an attack in a specific area, on a specific date, by a specific group?  

Working in the world of probabilities, there are many things to consider, from the reliability of specific sources to the significance of potential targets and dates, along with the history of similar operations.  For example, when terrorists and insurgents initiate multilocation, multicomponent attacks that are to occur on the same day, tying the date of the attacks to a specific religious or national holiday or observance, makes it easier for all of the cells to know and remember the day, regardless of their location or intellect.  This trend can be seen in many past attacks by terrorists and insurgents.  Additionally, some dates have specific cultural or political relevance, making them more appealing to specific cells, from the date of an invasion or death of a leader, to the date of historical battles or events in Islam.

Given Israel’s intelligence capacity, they should have known Hamas would launch an attack on or around October 7, 2023, with an initial range of the 1st to the 12th.  The probability of this prior knowledge is high, given the evidence, including notifications to Prime Minister Netanyahu and other Israeli officials.  What Israel needs is safeguards to diminish the ability of renegades to conceal or dismiss warnings, alerts, and reports.

Were Intelligence Failures due to Mistakes, Incompetence, or Treachery

Israeli officials repeatedly ignored ongoing warnings that Hamas was planning “something big” in Gaza.  The 40-page Jericho Wall battle-plan, combined with fighters practicing the attack, numerous other warnings, reports, and observations, and the significant irregularities in stock markets, should have elevated security measures and the deployment of IDF troops prior to the attacks of October 7, 2023.  Was this failure to connect the dots and to promptly investigate and act upon these reports and warnings due to negligence, incompetence, apathy, or treachery?

Some people may question if these were intelligence failures or if these numerous warnings were deliberately ignored or dismissed, driven by ulterior motives and secret objectives.  This includes allowing the carnage of the unobstructed Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, to initiate and justify the brutal destruction and depopulation of Gaza.

If the IDF was on high alert, Hamas would have likely cancelled the attack.  If Hamas attacked, the enhanced Israeli troop coverage of the potential portals from Gaza, could have decimated the terrorists.  While these preemptive moves could have saved the lives of 1,200 Israelis, it would have negated the justification and public support for the retaliatory destruction and depopulation of Gaza.  The secret scheme is to prevent a two-state solution, driving out the Palestinians, with Israel seizing full control, flooding Gaza with Israeli settlements, in preparation for it to be annexed into the State of Israel.  A similar agenda – with some variations – is being implemented in the West Bank.

In covering terrorist groups and insurgencies for many years, I’ve noticed that it is common for leaders of some jihadi cells to initiate operations that will provoke a response from military forces of the indigenous state or its allies, such as the US, that will cause collateral damage – the destruction of nonmilitary targets and the killing and wounding of civilians.  In some cases, insurgents or terrorists deliberately killed civilians during sweeps or in a firefight with opposing forces.

These duplicitous terrorists and insurgents blame the casualties on their adversaries – the state and its allies – and use the carnage as propaganda to gain support from the population, while attempting to justify their destructive and deadly, self-serving activities.  Unfortunately, similar tactics can be seen or suspected of so-called civilized states and respectable leaders, who willingly sacrifice their soldiers and civilians to achieve desirable and deceitful objectives for themselves and their associates.

This encompasses everything from the FSB planting bombs in Russian apartment buildings to justify a war in Chechnya to raise Vladimir Putin’s public awareness and stature enough to win the Presidential election, potentially saving a corrupt Boris Yeltsin from prosecution, to conspiracies surrounding 9/11, that some claim turned the United States into an aggressive and duplicitous, war-mongering, stasi-like police state.  The world is full of ambitious, devious, ethically-challenged people, who will sacrifice anyone and anything to achieve opportunistic objectives for themselves and their associates.  In the so-called international war on terror, they can be found on all sides of the conflict.

For more insight on the Israel-Hamas conflict, check out my article, “Secret Agendas Fuel The Hamas-Israeli Conflict In Gaza” in Eurasia Review, January 27, 2024.

• James Emery is a cultural anthropologist, who has covered regional conflicts, narcotics trafficking, terrorism, social issues, and other topics around the world, from traveling into Afghanistan with the mujahideen during the Soviet occupation – and later operating on both sides of the wire during the US involvement in Afghanistan – to interviewing rebel, ethnic groups in Myanmar.  He’s conducted interviews and research in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza on topics ranging from Honor Killings to Palestinian-Israeli issues.