Ex-IDF Colonel Disputes Shin Bet Chief's Claims of Pre-Oct. 7 Warnings

Retired Colonel Professor Gabi Siboni on Tuesday sharply criticized Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar, challenging Bar's assertion that he had warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of an impending disaster before the October 7th Hamas attack. In an interview, Siboni argued that any warnings issued by Bar at the time were not related to an operational threat but rather to political issues, specifically concerning the government's efforts to reform the judicial system. Siboni stated that Bar "did nothing" with these warnings and accused him of living in a "parallel world."

Siboni further dismissed Bar's claims of providing a concrete warning about the Hamas assault, asserting, "Now he says he issued warnings? He did nothing." He elaborated that if Bar were to take a polygraph test, he would be deemed truthful because he seems to genuinely believe his own narrative. Siboni described the Shin Bet chief's account of warnings as "delusional" and "audacious," stating he had not witnessed such behavior in a long time.

These remarks come amid ongoing public debate regarding the intelligence failures and warnings preceding the October 7th attack. Bar has maintained that he alerted political leadership to the potential for disaster, a claim now directly contested by Siboni.