Kan NewsPolitics19:07

Netanyahu Responds to Former Shin Bet Chief's Defamation Lawsuit

By איילה חסון

Translated & summarized from Kan News by baba

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Hebrew · 9 newsrooms covering

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded Wednesday to a defamation lawsuit filed by former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, who accused the premier of ignoring warnings about the October 7th attack. Bar's lawsuit details alleged ignored warnings from February and July 2023, including a "strategic warning of war." Netanyahu countered that Bar had a direct line and failed to call him on the night of the attack, potentially costing lives. The lawsuit follows Bar's announcement last month and Netanyahu's denial of a report about an Egyptian intelligence warning.

The story in 5 lines · by baba

Former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar sued Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for defamation over October 7th warnings.
Bar alleges Netanyahu ignored multiple warnings, including a "strategic warning of war" in July 2023.
Netanyahu stated Bar had a secure line and failed to call him on the night of the attack.
Bar's lawsuit includes a timeline of alleged ignored warnings dating back to February 2023.
The lawsuit follows Netanyahu's denial of a report about an Egyptian intelligence warning.

Netanyahu Responds to Former Shin Bet Chief's Defamation Lawsuit — Editorial illustration generated by baba News, not a photograph of the event.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared on Kan 11's "Erev Shavua with Ayelet Hasson" program Wednesday evening to address a defamation lawsuit filed against him by former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar. Bar filed the suit earlier that day in the District Court, accusing Netanyahu of "disseminating a blood libel that Bar 'knew' about the October 7th massacre, chose not to update, and withheld information."

Bar stated in his lawsuit that it "sheds light on an unusual series of warnings of impending disaster, recommendations, and operational plans I presented on dozens of occasions, and in response, Netanyahu's disregard." He also wrote that he "bears responsibility for the Shin Bet's partial failure in providing the required intelligence on the October 7th attack and its timing."

Attached to the lawsuit was a timeline of warnings Bar claims he presented to Netanyahu in the months preceding the attack. According to this timeline, Bar sent Netanyahu a personal letter in February 2023 warning of a "perfect storm" resulting from Israel's internal divisions and Palestinian instability. In July, Bar claims he called Netanyahu on a secure line, stating, "I am giving you a strategic warning of war," but that Netanyahu ignored it. Bar further alleges that in September, the Prime Minister instructed the cabinet to "strive for a quiet holiday period as much as possible."

Netanyahu responded to the lawsuit earlier in the day, stating, "Ronen Bar, who saw the signs on the night of October 7th and did not call me, says today that he did not have my phone number." He questioned, "Ronen, are you serious? You had my red phone number... How many lives could we have saved if you had only called on time?"

Bar had announced his intention to sue Netanyahu at the end of last month. On that same day, Netanyahu denied a Wall Street Journal report claiming that then-Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel had called him in early October 2023 to warn of an attack from Gaza.