Netanyahu Responds to Call for Investigation into Oct. 7 Handling

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly addressed calls from Gadi Eisenkot, head of the Yamina party, to launch an investigation into Netanyahu's handling of information regarding the October 7th Hamas attacks. Eisenkot suspects the Prime Minister of providing false information to the State Comptroller about the events. Netanyahu, in a statement released Friday, dismissed these accusations as "panic and desperation" from Eisenkot, asserting that he had provided all necessary materials to the investigators. He stated that "left-wing channels" were repeating false claims about him withholding documents. "Contrary to his false claims, which are repeated by the left-wing channels, the Prime Minister did not hide a single document from the State Comptroller. As always, it was the opposite: the Prime Minister provided the State Comptroller with about a thousand documents, protocols, and full transcripts for review, including intelligence materials from AMAN military intelligence and the Shin Bet security service, without filtering or redacting fragments, in accordance with the Comptroller's requirements," the statement read. The Prime Minister's office explained that a 55-page document released to the public was only a small portion of the full materials submitted. Netanyahu claimed full cooperation with the State Comptroller's review, stating that every requested document was provided in its entirety and all questions were answered. The Prime Minister's office also alleged that the review was halted and disrupted by "left-wing organizations, the government's legal advisor, and the High Court of Justice (BAGATS)." Netanyahu called for the resumption of the State Comptroller's review and the establishment of a national investigative commission with equal representation from the coalition and opposition.

Eisenkot's party had previously appealed to the government's legal advisor, citing a report by journalist Ronen Bergman in "Yedioth Ahronoth" and statements by retired Major General Avi Gil, former military secretary to Netanyahu. These sources suggested that Netanyahu presented only partial security documents, omitting warnings and intelligence assessments about Hamas's strengthening, its ties to the "Iranian axis," and the risk of escalation. A specific intelligence document from October 3, 2023, four days before the attack, was highlighted as containing omissions that could influence public perception of the leadership's actions. Avi Gil also questioned the completeness of the materials provided to the State Comptroller, stating, "The document provided to the State Comptroller does not reflect what actually happened. It is part of the truth, but not the whole truth."

The Yamina party believes the circumstances warrant an investigation into potential abuse of power, obstruction of a public servant, and breach of trust. They warned that submitting incomplete information could compromise future investigative commissions and serve as an attempt to coordinate testimonies and conceal the truth. The party criticized Netanyahu's opposition to a state investigative commission, accusing him of "abusing his authority and becoming a censor for the public, guided solely by his own interests and propaganda considerations, attempting to hide and distort the past." The party referenced Article 239 of the Israeli Penal Code, which penalizes knowingly false sworn statements with up to three years imprisonment, arguing that the leader during the catastrophe should not unilaterally decide what facts become public.