Comptroller: Major flaws in handling of tunnel threat
State comptroller issues draft report criticizing Cabinet and prime minister's management of Hamas tunnels into Israel before and during Operation Protective Edge.
Shapira instructed that the draft be provided to the prime minister, Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, and Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot.
The draft report points to several gaps and deficiencies, some major, in countering the tunnel threat in the years leading up to and during Operation Protective Edge, including security forces inside Gaza border towns. The draft report also severely criticizes the prime minister and his Cabinet. The fact that the comptroller noted deficiencies in the draft stage is quite rare, suggesting particularly serious problems.
The draft of another section focusing on the Cabinet's decision-making process and operations, as well as on the reciprocal relations between the Cabinet and the military, is soon to be passed along also. The full report on the tunnels and Operation Protective Edge will include other subjects, including: technological solutions to the tunnel threats; protecting the civilians from the threat of missiles and rockets; and the IDF's operations in relation to the provisions of international law.
The subject of Hamas tunnels has gained attention in the past few weeks following three tunnel collapses that killed 11 Hamas operatives. Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh also hinted that the group has been digging tunnels leading to Israel. On Wednesday, IDF engineering units were filmed conducting searches at the border.
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, Yoav Mordechai, discussed the matter with Palestinian news agency Ma'an. Mordechai noted that the tunnels court disaster for the entire Gaza Strip and branded them "death tunnels". He advised Gaza residents not to assist with tunnels and stay away from them, particularly after the collapses. On the question of whether Israel caused the tunnels to collapse inside Gaza, Mordechai said: "God only knows."
