Would the warning to Netanyahu have changed anything? "Always looking for that one alert — it's blindness"

Ofer Shelah comments on the report about the UAE president's warning to Netanyahu before October 7, arguing it reinforces his responsibility for strengthening Hamas and the military's readiness. Shelah expresses skepticism that such a warning would have changed policy, defining the failure as "systemic blindness" broader than a single alert.

Ofer Shelah, a journalist and former politician, commented in an interview with 103FM on the report about the UAE president's warning to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before the October 7, 2023 attack. Shelah argued that the report reinforces Netanyahu's absolute responsibility, both for the policy that strengthened Hamas and for the military's state and readiness. However, Shelah expressed historical skepticism that such a warning would have changed Israel's policy, defining the failure that led to October 7 as "systemic blindness," partly willful. Shelah dismissed the claim that Israel is now in a more sober place, arguing that Israel is pursuing a "policy of open-ended war" without correcting anything. He warned against converging on the perception that "everyone is against us" and addressed tensions in the Gulf and the exchange of fire between the US and Iran, which he said lack clear purpose.

Would the warning to Netanyahu have changed anything? "Always looking for that one alert — it's blindness"