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According to the NYT, a Hamas-sourced document codenamed "Jericho Wall" was somehow made public. It described in a fair bit of detail how the Hamas attack on Oct 7 eventually unfolded. (In response to one comment: note that the name/title of the document was definitely set by Israelis though, according to NYT.)

Israeli officials obtained Hamas’s battle plan for the Oct. 7 terrorist attack more than a year before it happened, documents, emails and interviews show. But Israeli military and intelligence officials dismissed the plan as aspirational, considering it too difficult for Hamas to carry out.

The approximately 40-page document, which the Israeli authorities code-named “Jericho Wall,” outlined, point by point, exactly the kind of devastating invasion that led to the deaths of about 1,200 people. The translated document, which was reviewed by The New York Times, did not set a date for the attack, but described a methodical assault designed to overwhelm the fortifications around the Gaza Strip, take over Israeli cities and storm key military bases, including a division headquarters. Hamas followed the blueprint with shocking precision. The document called for a barrage of rockets at the outset of the attack, drones to knock out the security cameras and automated machine guns along the border, and gunmen to pour into Israel en masse in paragliders, on motorcycles and on foot — all of which happened on Oct. 7. [...]

The document circulated widely among Israeli military and intelligence leaders, but experts determined that an attack of that scale and ambition was beyond Hamas’s capabilities, according to documents and officials. It is unclear whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or other top political leaders saw the document, as well.

[... Israeli] Officials would not say how they obtained the Jericho Wall document, but it was among several versions of attack plans collected over the years.

What's unclear to me is: who made this document public in Israel? Was it a leak or did some Israeli authority decide to officially release it to the public, and if so when was it released (or leaked)?

FWTW, a later Politico article says that US officials deny having ever seen the "Jericho Wall" document before, so implicitly they also seem to deny they leaked or released it.

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    Just to clarify. The source of this document - or rather presentation - is not Hamas, but the IDF (it was created by the IDF). calling this "a Hamas document" could be misleading. AFAIK the document was not made public and was not leaked, but rather its essence was made public by press. the press do not usually tell us their sources.
    – discipulus
    Commented Dec 1, 2023 at 19:50
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    the full NYT article is not accessible to me, but if people can read this and understand that the source of the document is Hamas, then this example should just be added to the folder of low-level press.
    – discipulus
    Commented Dec 1, 2023 at 19:59
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    @discipulus: my reading is that NYT implies it was obtained by Israeli intel from Hamas, pretty much as-is. I extended the quote with what NYT says about that. I grant you that it's not 100% clear if it wasn't somehow processed/compiled by Israelis from several sources. Commented Dec 1, 2023 at 20:32
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    I never doubted you. I see this NYT is from 30 Nov. where simple search yield first (as I could see) Israeli reference in 28th. In another site - google translate. written "which was prepared in the Gaza Division".
    – discipulus
    Commented Dec 1, 2023 at 20:52
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    According to those, the document was complied by the IDF in May 22 based on intelligence they had (probably multiple sources). both NYT and the Israeli sources clearly refer to the same 30-40 page document.
    – discipulus
    Commented Dec 1, 2023 at 20:55

1 Answer 1

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Question:

Who made public "Jericho Wall" -- the blueprint that Hamas followed on Oct 7?

Short Answer:

Who is the big winner of this leak, and who is the big loser? Clearly this leak damages P.M. Netanyahu, and benefits his political rival, the retired Israeli General Benny Gantz. So I would say it's got to be one of Benny Gantz's supporters trying to keep the spot light and blame of Oct 7th squarely on the embattled Israeli P.M.

Answer:

Prime Minister Netanyahu is a political genius. I'm not a fan, but you have to give respect even if you disagree with him for the proficiency he navigates the complex Israeli political bureaucracy. Netanyahu has been active at the highest levels of Israeli politics for 40 years. Over that time he has won and lost the Israeli Prime minster-ship 3 times. He's left office under legal charges of corruption and come back. He's currently under multiple charges of corruption. He's like the energizer bunny of politics.

But now he's being blamed by Israeli's for failing to keep them safe from the Oct 7th attack.

More Israelis blame Netanyahu for security lapses that led to Hamas attack

Prime Minister Netanyahu has tried to escape the responsibility for Oct 7th attacks by throwing others under the buss.

Netanyahu has sidestepped accountability for failing to prevent Hamas attack, instead blaming others

Netanyahu Apologizes After Blaming Security Chiefs for Failure in Hamas Attack

Netanyahu faces rising anger from within Israel after Hamas attack

Currently most Israeli's blame PM Netanyahu for the Oct 7th attack. Political observers both foreign and domestic have been waiting for Netanyahu's primary political opposition to make his move.

Benny Gantz eyes his moment to topple Israel’s Netanyahu

All eyes are on when retired general Benny Gantz is going to make his move against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Since Hamas’ murderous attacks on October 7, Israelis have largely put partisan politics aside, but the strain for such a highly rambunctious nation is starting to show. With the first phase of action in Gaza coming to a close, the weeks ahead now look set to roll into a potential endgame for Netanyahu, as many Israelis blame him for last month’s catastrophic security blunder.

Benny Gantz made his first move a few days ago.

16 Nov 2023 Israel’s opposition leader calls on Netanyahu to resign over Hamas attack

This latest leak would appear to be a second move to speed Netanyahu on his way.

The NY Times Article says the IDF had the Jericho Plan for more than a year before the Oct 7th 2023 attack. Benny Gantz was Israel's Defense Minister from 2020 - Oct 2022. So he and his supporters would have been in a position to know about the Jericho plan, and whether the IDF did anything with the plan after General Gantz left government in late 2022.

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    This provides good evidence that Benny Gantz had plenty of motive to leak this but it provides no evidence that he actually did it (or even had access to it before it became public).
    – quarague
    Commented Dec 1, 2023 at 21:10
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    @quarague, the NY Times article says the Israeli Defense force had the Jericho plan for more than a year before the Oct 7th 2023 attack. Benny Gentz was the Israeli defense Minister in 2020 - Oct 2022. So one would suspect he had the plan and was aware if Netanyahu failed to act on it after Gantz left government that year.
    – JMS
    Commented Dec 1, 2023 at 21:39
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    @quarague: TBH Bibi has maintained that he was not informed. So he could have well authorized the release of this info to show it was a widespread failure in the lower ranks of the intel community... and that it had happened while he was not PM. Commented Dec 2, 2023 at 4:49
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    Seems similar to Bin Ladin Determined To Strike in US story - it could be one of many possible plans circulated by Hamas prior to October 7, which seems of greater importance now, in post-hoc analysis.
    – Morisco
    Commented Dec 4, 2023 at 9:39
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    I downvoted this answer because it is based on speculation and conjecture, not on any actual evidence that Benny Gantz or one of his supporters published this document.
    – Philipp
    Commented Dec 4, 2023 at 10:08

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