Originally published October 16, 2023 2:13 pm PDT
Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, on Thursday expressed skepticism over Israel’s response to the Hamas assault that unfolded earlier this month.
During his appearance on Patrick Bet-David’s PBD Podcast, Kirk pondered Israel’s readiness, considering the nation’s significantly fortified nature.
Kirk, familiar with the Israeli landscape, remarked, “I’ve been to Israel many times, the whole country is a fortress,” National File reported.
He added, “I’ve been to that Gaza border, you cannot go 10 feet without running into a 19-year-old with an AR-15, or an automatic machine gun, that is an IDF soldier. The whole country is surveilled.”
Highlighting the political turbulence in Israel preceding the attack, Kirk described, “The last nine months, Israel was on the brink of civil war.”
He detailed the significant unrest with “hundreds of thousands of Israelis taking to the streets because Bibi Netanyahu was basically redefining the Israeli constitution.”
Kirk went on to underline the now-canceled protests against Netanyahu, observing, “There were protests planned this week against Netanyahu, where they anticipated tens of thousands of people to take to the streets. That’s all gone now. Netanyahu now has an emergency government and a mandate to lead.”
Addressing the timeline of events during the attack, Kirk voiced his doubts, “Six hours? I don’t believe it.”
He emphasized Israel’s compact geography, saying, “Israel is the size of New Jersey. When I took a helicopter ride from Jerusalem to the Gaza border, it was 45 minutes.”
He then posed a critical question: “I’m not willing to say, to go so far to say that Netanyahu knew or there was intelligence here, but I think some questions need to be asked. Was there a stand-down order? Was there a stand-down order?”
Recent reports have suggested that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directed the Israeli military to withhold action for seven hours amid Hamas’ onslaught.
Corroborating these claims, Cecily Routman of the Jewish Pro-Life Foundation stated, “Israel has the most sophisticated intelligence in the world. There is no way the government didn’t know that that was going to happen.”
Routman, who was interviewed by conservative activist Lauren Witzke in an interview released Saturday, went on to reference Rabbi Chananya Weissman, a figure closely connected to top Israeli officials.
She shared that Weissman “sent out a missive that, indeed, the IDF was given stand down orders—both the army and the air force—seven hours to stand down while those attacks took place.”
Elaborating on the implications of these allegations, Routman compared the situation to a household harboring a dangerous animal.”
Personally, I think that this situation is akin to a family keeping a rabid dog in their home and then blaming the dog when their baby gets bitten,” she said.
Routman concluded by holding the Israeli government partially accountable for the tragic events, saying, “I look at the government of Israel and they really needed to make sure these people did not proliferate on their borders. And so they are held partially accountable for having to kill God’s creations in order to secure their border. This should never have happened.”
Initial reports from Oct 7 also indicate the noticeable absence of the Israeli military as Hamas breached the border.
Egypt Warned Israel of Potential Hamas Attack, Confirms House GOP Chair
Egypt reportedly cautioned Israel about a possible strike from Hamas several days before the attack took place, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Michael McCaul (R-TX) revealed last week.
Speaking after an intelligence meeting with lawmakers concerning the escalating conflict, McCaul stated, “We know that Egypt had warned the Israelis three days prior that an event like this could happen.”
Raising concerns about intelligence oversights, he remarked, “We’ve heard from the administration, there seems to be a failure of intelligence as well. We’re not quite sure how we missed it. We’re not quite sure how Israel missed it.”
Earlier that week, an anonymous Egyptian intelligence officer informed The Associated Press that their country, which frequently acts as a mediator between Israel and Hamas, had communicated with Israel multiple times regarding an imminent major event.
The official recounted to the AP, “We have warned them an explosion of the situation is coming, and very soon, and it would be big. But they underestimated such warnings.”
Hamas’ Public Training Exercise Preceded Major Attack on Israel
Weeks before the attack by Hamas fighters on Israel, which claimed over 1,200 Israeli lives, the militant group aired a video preview.
A polished propaganda video, uploaded by Hamas on September 12, featured militants employing explosives to breach a simulated border gate.
This was followed by them swiftly navigating through a replicated Israeli town in pickup trucks and shooting at targets shaped like human silhouettes.
Their live drill, named operation “Strong Pillar”, showcased fighters in body armor and military garb destroying mock versions of the wall’s concrete structures and a communication antenna—a haunting mimicry of the actual assault that took place last Saturday.
The question arises: How did the revered Israeli intelligence and security agencies miss such a conspicuous precursor?
Particularly when some of Hamas’ training facilities were positioned near enough to an Israeli border post that a mere pair of binoculars might have revealed their activities.
Bradley Bowman, formerly with the U.S. Army and currently serving as the senior director of the Center on Military and Political Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington, weighed in on the situation.
He remarked, “There clearly were warnings and indications that should have been picked up.”
Bowman further speculated on whether these signals might have been detected but not acted upon, stating, “Or maybe they were picked up, but they didn’t spark necessary preparations to prevent these horrific terrorist acts from happening.”
