Zein Khalil and Gulsen Topcu
22 October 2023•Update: 23 October 2023
JERUSALEM
An Israeli opposition movement has accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of destroying evidence and documents to avoid responsibility for the Al Aqsa Flood operation conducted by Hamas earlier this month.
Engaged in protests against Netanyahu, Israel’s Democracy Movement sent a letter to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and described the Hamas attack as a “complete intelligence and operational surprise.”
In the letter also published on Facebook, the movement said that despite the significant impact felt by all Israeli citizens on "Black Saturday," referring to the Oct. 7 operation by Hamas, Netanyahu has refrained from accepting responsibility.
It also claimed that Netanyahu has also been obstructing any future investigative committees.
The letter urged the attorney general to intervene and recover what was burned or erased, and work to preserve information before and after the Hamas attack.
As of now, Netanyahu has not issued any statement regarding these allegations.
Israeli security officials and politicians have admitted that they could not foresee the attack.
The conflict in Gaza, under Israeli bombardment and blockade since Oct. 7, began when the Palestinian group, Hamas, initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood -- a multi-pronged surprise attack that included a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel by land, sea and air.
Hamas said the incursion was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and growing violence by Israeli settlers.
The Israeli military then launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.
Officials have said that more than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed in the conflict.
A humanitarian convoy of 20 trucks began Saturday to enter the Gaza Strip from the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing -- the first since the start of the current conflict.
*Writing by Esra Tekin in Istanbul
