Ex-Shin Bet Chief Ronen Bar to Sue Netanyahu Over Hamas Attack Blame

Former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar announced Monday he has instructed his lawyers to file a defamation lawsuit against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Bar is demanding the comprehensive disclosure of documents related to Netanyahu's meetings with security officials and foreign dignitaries in the period preceding the October 7th Hamas attack. He also seeks all protocols and warnings that were conveyed to the Prime Minister.

Bar's office stated that Netanyahu is conducting a "reckless and baseless incitement campaign" to deflect blame from himself, manipulating and misrepresenting documents. While Bar initially believed it was best to wait for a state inquiry commission, the alleged distortion of facts and dissemination of misleading information prompted the legal action to "defend the truth, the memory of the fallen, and the honor of Shin Bet personnel."

Earlier, Netanyahu had posted on X, stating he had instructed his own defamation suit following media reports that he received a warning from former Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel before October 7th. Netanyahu asserted he had no meetings or conversations with Kamel in the months prior and received no such warning from any Israeli intelligence source.

In his statement, Netanyahu sharply criticized Bar and the media, calling it a "despicable and false campaign aimed at pinning all of Ronen Bar's failures and crimes on the eve of October 7th onto the Prime Minister." Netanyahu claimed that on the night of October 7th, Bar had numerous conversations with then-IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and head of Military Intelligence Aharon Haliva about warning signs, yet "decided not to call and update the Prime Minister, not to alert the reserve forces and IDF units in the field, and not to evacuate the Nova music festival."