Victims of Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught and relatives of those murdered or taken hostage unveiled a 12-page dossier on Tuesday that they say documents the policies and decisions that allowed the terror group to grow stronger during the 15 years preceding the massacre.

Benjamin Netanyahu served as prime minister for nearly all of that period, and speakers at a press conference presenting the document accused him and his successive governments of creating the conditions that enabled the attack while refusing to accept responsibility afterward.

The event was held exactly six weeks before the October 27 election, in which Netanyahu is seeking another term.

Titled “Case 7/10,” the dossier draws on publicly available reports, testimony and statements to argue that the massacre was not merely the result of intelligence and operational failures in the hours preceding it, but the culmination of a years-long policy.

Its four sections examine decisions not to target senior Hamas leaders or launch decisive operations against the terror group; the transfer of Qatari funds that helped Hamas build its military infrastructure; warnings that the dossier says were ignored as part of a “calculated risk”; and what it describes as Netanyahu’s subsequent efforts to evade responsibility and shape public memory of the disaster.

Among the warnings cited is a recent Haaretz report alleging that Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed warned Netanyahu about Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar’s intentions in the final days of September 2023, but that Netanyahu did not relay the information to security officials. Netanyahu’s office denied that the United Arab Emirates had issued any such warning.

The document concludes that no single decision caused the massacre, but that a consistent policy of containing Hamas, preserving its rule and allowing it to strengthen helped create the conditions for the attack. It acknowledges that the conduct of the Israel Defense Forces and intelligence agencies must also be investigated, while arguing that this does not diminish the political leadership’s responsibility.

Shelly Meshel-Yogev, whose 22-year-old daughter Libby Cohen Meguri was murdered........

© The Times of Israel