Netanyahu Mocks Former Shin Bet Chief Over Defamation Suit
Translated & summarized from JDN by baba
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly responded to a NIS 3 million defamation lawsuit filed by former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar. Netanyahu dismissed Bar's claim of not having his personal number, stating Bar could have used official channels or security details. Bar's lawsuit argues that the Military Secretary's office, not his personal number, was the official communication channel. While Bar admits Shin Bet failures, he denies prior knowledge of the October 7th attack.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Prime Minister Netanyahu stated former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar could have reached him via official channels or security.
- Former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar filed a NIS 3 million defamation lawsuit against Prime Minister Netanyahu.
- Netanyahu claimed Bar's subordinates, present 24/7, could have easily contacted him.
- Bar argued the Military Secretary's office was the official channel for updating the Prime Minister.
- Bar admitted Shin Bet failures but denied knowing about the October 7th massacre in advance.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded Wednesday to a defamation lawsuit filed against him by former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, rejecting Bar's claim that he couldn't wake Netanyahu on the night before the October 7th massacre because he lacked the Prime Minister's personal phone number. Netanyahu asserted that Bar could have used the "red phone" or contacted him through the Shin Bet security detail, which is with the Prime Minister 24/7, given the intelligence signs received that night. "Ronen Bar, who saw the signs and didn't call me, says today he didn't have my phone number. Ronen, are you serious?" Netanyahu wrote on social media. He added that Bar's subordinates, who are constantly with him, could have reached him within minutes. Netanyahu concluded by suggesting that "many lives could have been saved if you had only called on time."
Prime Minister's advisor Yonatan Urich also attacked Bar, stating that he had numerous ways to reach Netanyahu, either through his office staff or the security detail. Urich called Bar "the most failed head of the Shin Bet in Israel's history."
Bar filed a NIS 3 million defamation suit against Netanyahu at the Central District Court in Lod. The suit stems from a publication where Netanyahu attributed "failures and crimes" and a deliberate avoidance of updating and taking life-saving actions to Bar. In his filing, Bar acknowledged that Netanyahu did not give him his personal number, but argued this was not the sole communication channel. He stated the official channel for updating the Prime Minister on security matters is the Military Secretary's office, which was informed of the intelligence picture during the night. Bar claimed that after an assessment he led, he ordered the main points of the discussion to be passed to the Prime Minister's Military Secretary, and that the Prime Minister's chief of staff spoke with him before the attack began. According to Bar, the decision on whether and when to wake the Prime Minister was made within the Military Secretary's office. While admitting the Shin Bet's failure to provide advance warning about the scale and timing of the attack, Bar denied knowing about the massacre in advance and choosing not to act.
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