Ex-Shin Bet Chief Claims Netanyahu Rejected Sinwar Assassination, Officials Proposed Ceding West Bank to Hamas

Former Shin Bet security agency chief Ronen Bar has revealed that Israeli government officials considered allowing Hamas to take control of the West Bank approximately two months before the October 7, 2023, attacks. This information emerged in a lawsuit Bar filed against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, seeking three million shekels in damages.

The lawsuit was filed following a tweet by Netanyahu accusing Bar of "shortcomings and crimes" that led to the October 7th attack. According to the newspaper Israel Hayom, Bar stated in his lawsuit that the idea of ceding the West Bank to Hamas was discussed during a meeting of the Israeli Security Cabinet on July 9, 2023. Bar vehemently rejected the proposal, warning that Hamas is an extremist religious movement aiming to destroy Israel and kill Israelis. The lawsuit did not name the officials who put forward the idea.

Bar's lawsuit also includes evidence, such as documents and testimonies, that he claims contradict Netanyahu's narrative of not receiving repeated warnings before the October 7th attack and of crucial information being withheld from him. Bar accused the Prime Minister of attempting to shift the focus from his own political responsibility for the failures preceding the attack onto the security chiefs, particularly the former Shin Bet head.

Bar emphasized that his lawsuit is not an attempt to evade his own responsibility for failures, which he has previously accepted. Instead, he aims to counter what he described as Netanyahu's defamation and his attempt to shift the Prime Minister's own accountability onto Bar.

Furthermore, Bar revealed in the lawsuit that he had proposed assassinating Hamas leader Sinwar. However, Netanyahu opposed the idea, fearing a "balancing of assassinations" where enemies might retaliate by targeting him personally. Bar added that after the "Shield and Arrow" operation against Palestinian Islamic Jihad in May 2023, he suggested expanding targeted assassinations and provided intelligence on Sinwar, but Netanyahu expressed concern about potential reprisal.