Commentator Erel Segal Accuses Former Shin Bet Chief of Criminal Negligence

Erel Segal, a prominent commentator on Channel 14 and a vocal supporter of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has strongly criticized former Shin Bet head Ronen Bar and journalist Ben Caspit. Segal's remarks came in response to a defamation lawsuit filed by Bar against Netanyahu. Caspit had shared excerpts from Bar's lawsuit, which alleged that the Shin Bet chief had warned Netanyahu about the danger of war months before October 7th. Segal countered these claims on social media, suggesting that if such warnings were indeed issued, Bar's inaction on the night of October 7th, including failing to call the police commissioner to disperse the Nova music festival, constituted "criminal negligence at a minimum." He questioned Bar's credibility, asking if he didn't believe his own warnings and suggesting he "sent tequila" instead of taking concrete action. Segal further elaborated on his view of the upcoming elections, framing them as a choice between figures like "Eizenkot, Bennett, Lapid, Yitzhak Amit, Miara, and Ronen Bar" and "one man who stood against the whole world and dismantled the axis of evil." He accused Bar of attempting to manipulate public opinion. The lawsuit itself stems from Netanyahu's repeated claims that security officials did not warn him about the situation prior to October 7th. This is not the first time Segal has publicly attacked former security officials; he recently accused former Military Secretary Avi Gill of lying during a police investigation regarding the events of October 7th and alleged that Chief of Staff Tzachi Braverman attempted to alter the recorded time of a conversation about the massacre.