Bennett Accuses Netanyahu of Blood Libel to Evade Blame for October 7

Naftali Bennett, chairman of the "Achva" party, on Wednesday accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of "blood libel and lies" to absolve himself of responsibility for the October 7th massacre. Bennett stated that Netanyahu "spreads a false and vile conspiracy theory about treason, tears the nation apart, severely damages public trust in the security forces, sends his people to echo it, and then apologizes in the dead of night after the damage is done." He added that Netanyahu's actions, including portraying security agencies as enemies, are an attempt to evade direct responsibility for the massacre, but "like many other bad things, this will not work for him, because he is simply incapable." Bennett contrasted this with his own party's goals, stating, "Netanyahu is busy tearing the nation apart, we will unite, establish a state commission of inquiry to prevent the next disaster, and eliminate Hamas to prevent the next massacre."

Meanwhile, Defense Minister Israel Katz avoided directly stating that there was no betrayal on October 7th during an interview. Katz said, "I can address what I know. From the material I have seen, that the IDF and other bodies prepared, the failure is deep enough and explains what happened there, the disaster that occurred." He elaborated that Hamas created a deception and overwhelmed the Gaza Division according to a plan that was not reported to the political echelon.

This exchange follows comments made by Prime Minister Netanyahu and his wife, Sara Netanyahu. The Prime Minister reiterated his stance that there was no "betrayal" on October 7th, but rather a "great failure" stemming from a "miscalculation" by security officials who decided not to "anger Hamas" or "wake me up" by attacking preemptively. Sara Netanyahu, in a Channel 14 interview, had previously implied betrayal and questioned why the Prime Minister needed to be informed of a war breaking out. Following her remarks, a legal warning was sent to Sara Netanyahu by Golan, demanding a public apology and financial compensation for survivors of the Nova music festival, or face a lawsuit of at least 2.5 million shekels for defamation.