Ex-Shin Bet Chief Bar Sues Netanyahu, Cites Rejection of Sinwar Assassination Plot

Former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar has revealed new details concerning security meetings prior to the October 7, 2023, attacks, including a proposal by Israeli officials to allow Hamas to control the West Bank and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's rejection of a plan to assassinate Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. Bar filed a lawsuit against Netanyahu seeking three million shekels in damages, accusing the Prime Minister of defamation and attempting to shift blame for the pre-attack failures. According to the "Israel Hayom" newspaper, Bar stated in his lawsuit that the idea of Hamas controlling the West Bank was discussed during a July 9, 2023, meeting of the Israeli Security Cabinet. He reportedly rejected this proposal outright, warning that Hamas is an extremist religious movement aiming to destroy Israel and kill Israelis. The lawsuit did not name the officials who proposed the idea, but Bar asserted his claims are based on documents and testimonies contradicting Netanyahu's narrative about pre-attack warnings.

The lawsuit highlights the escalating dispute between Netanyahu and Bar over responsibility for the security failures leading up to October 7. Bar alleges that the Prime Minister is trying to shift the focus from political leadership to security agency chiefs, thereby assigning them the majority of the blame. Bar emphasized that his legal action is not an attempt to evade his own responsibilities, which he has acknowledged, but a response to what he described as slander and an effort to hold him accountable for failures that also fall under the Prime Minister's purview.

In another part of the lawsuit, Bar revealed he proposed assassinating Sinwar, but Netanyahu opposed the idea, fearing a retaliatory strike targeting himself personally. Bar stated he suggested expanding targeted assassinations to various arenas after Operation "Shield and Arrow" against Palestinian Islamic Jihad in May 2023, providing intelligence on Sinwar. Netanyahu reportedly responded that he feared such a policy could lead to an "assassination equation" where Israel's adversaries would target Israeli figures, including himself.

These accusations are part of the ongoing debate between Netanyahu and Bar regarding intelligence warnings before October 7, whether the information reached the political level, and how it was handled. The lawsuit presents Bar's account of these events, while the report did not include a detailed response from Netanyahu.