Netanyahu Claims Former Shin Bet Chief Omitted Key Details in Defamation Suit
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar omitted critical details from security discussions in his defamation lawsuit. Netanyahu presented documents suggesting Bar downplayed threats from Hamas and Sinwar prior to the October 7th attack. The documents include Bar's assessments of Gaza's stability and recommendations for "moderate and covert" readiness on the day of the massacre. Netanyahu argues these omissions change the understanding of why the attack was not prevented.
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- Netanyahu claims former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar omitted key security details in his lawsuit.
- Documents presented by Netanyahu contradict Bar's portrayal of pre-October 7th threat assessments.
- Bar reportedly described Gaza laborers as preventing a campaign and Sinwar as a "sober leader."
- Netanyahu alleges Bar excluded directives for "moderate and covert" readiness on the attack day.
- The dispute centers on whether warnings about Hamas were adequately conveyed and acted upon.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has presented documents and quotes from security discussions that he claims contradict the assertions made by former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar in his recent defamation lawsuit against the Prime Minister. Bar filed the suit a day after his tenure ended, following the October 7th Hamas attack.
Netanyahu alleges that Bar selectively included portions of classified protocols in his lawsuit, omitting crucial details that alter the narrative of events leading up to the massacre. The Prime Minister contends that these omissions, particularly regarding the situation assessment on the night of the attack and Bar's assessments of Gaza, Hamas, and its leader Sinwar throughout 2023, significantly misrepresent the facts.
According to documents presented by Netanyahu, a situation assessment concluded at 5:15 AM on October 7th, with a summary reaching the Prime Minister's office at 9:47 AM. This assessment, despite earlier unusual indications, recommended "moderate and covert" readiness and avoidance of broad operations to prevent "miscalculation." Netanyahu claims Bar excluded these specific directives from his lawsuit, which he argues were critical to preventing the attack.
Further documents cited by Netanyahu show Bar's prior assessments. In January 2023, Bar reportedly stated that the entry of 17,500 Palestinian laborers daily from Gaza "prevented a campaign" and kept the public "outside the circle of terror." When Netanyahu suggested targeting Hamas official Salah al-Arouri in January 2023, Bar allegedly responded that it would take the Shin Bet into a "complex place" and was "not right." In February 2023, Bar described Hamas leader Sinwar as a "sober leader" not ready for a "war of resurrection," citing dissatisfaction among Arabs in Israel and a lack of threat from the northern front.
Netanyahu also claims that Bar's warnings about internal Israeli protests and the judicial reform crisis did not include specific alerts about an imminent, initiated war from Gaza. Instead, a briefing in April 2023 reportedly indicated that Hamas leadership saw Israel's internal crisis as an opportunity to intensify focus on the West Bank while maintaining restraint in Gaza, with continued preparation for escalation.
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