Likud Candidate Slams Shin Bet Chief Over October 7th Failures

Erez Tadmor, a candidate for the Likud party, stated in a radio interview that Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar should have resigned immediately after the October 7th Hamas attack. Tadmor cited intelligence received on the night of October 7th, including indications of Hamas leaders descending into tunnels, the infiltration of Israeli SIM cards, and Hamas gatherings in mosques, arguing that such signs warranted preparation for the worst-case scenario, which he claims did not happen.

Tadmor further criticized Bar for not updating the political echelon and suggested that Bar's current actions, including threatening a lawsuit against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, are politically motivated and timed to influence the upcoming elections. He dismissed the lawsuit threat as baseless and a political maneuver.

This statement comes amid a public dispute between Netanyahu and former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar. Bar issued a rare official response to accusations made by Netanyahu, announcing his intention to sue Netanyahu and demanding the disclosure of classified documents. Bar denies Netanyahu's claims of not receiving warnings from Arab sources and accuses Netanyahu of deflecting blame for his own failures.

Netanyahu's office had previously released a statement accusing the "left-wing media" of a "vile and false campaign" to blame Netanyahu for Bar's alleged failures before October 7th. The statement claimed Bar discussed intelligence signs with the IDF chief of staff and head of military intelligence but chose not to update Netanyahu, nor alert emergency response teams, nor evacuate the Nova music festival, only sending a small team, which Netanyahu's office interprets as proof Bar knew of the real danger.

In response, Bar vehemently attacked Netanyahu, accusing him of launching a "lawless and reality-detached incitement campaign." Bar asserted that he had unprecedentedly warned Netanyahu of an impending disaster, which Netanyahu ignored, along with recommendations to bolster deterrence and reinforce the border. Bar stated he had initially waited for a state commission of inquiry but could no longer tolerate the "stream of lies, distortion of facts, manipulation of protocols, and dissemination of misleading information" by Netanyahu as the extent of warnings received before the massacre becomes clearer. Consequently, Bar has instructed his lawyers to file a defamation lawsuit against Netanyahu and to summon witnesses who allegedly distorted documents and spread false information about him.