Ex-Shin Bet Chief Sues Netanyahu for Defamation Over Oct. 7 Claims

In this episode

The stories Maya and Daniel cover, in order. Each one opens the full story.

1. Ex-Shin Bet Chief Sues Netanyahu for Defamation Over Oct. 7 Claims
2. Boy Dies After Explosion From Burning Trash Can in Beitar Illit
3. Colombia Inaugurates Jerusalem Embassy, Restoring Ties With Israel
4. Bedouin Man Sentenced to 24.5 Years for Infiltrating IDF for Gaza Terror Group
5. Gaza Merchants Strike Over Hamas Extortion, Threatening Aid Flow
6. Colombia Quits Anti-Israel Group, Opens Jerusalem Embassy

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Transcript

Maya

The man who ran the Shin Bet on October seventh is taking the Prime Minister to court.

Daniel

Ronen Bar is suing Benjamin Netanyahu for defamation, for millions of shekels.

Maya

This is Good Morning, Israel from baba News. It's Thursday, October fifteenth. I'm Maya.

Daniel

And I'm Daniel.

Maya

Start with the lawsuit. Who is Ronen Bar, for anyone just joining?

Daniel

He's the former director of the Shin Bet, Israel's domestic security service. He was in charge on October seventh, when Hamas terrorists invaded southern Israel.

Maya

And what exactly is he suing over?

Daniel

Bar says Prime Minister Netanyahu falsely claimed that Bar withheld intelligence ahead of October seventh. Bar calls that defamation.

Maya

So the argument is about who knew what, and who told whom.

Daniel

Exactly. And the lawsuit goes further than denial. According to the suit, Bar warned Netanyahu repeatedly throughout twenty twenty-three about Hamas's intentions and its military buildup. Bar says those warnings were ignored.

Maya

Which echoes what we told you yesterday, about the Egyptian intelligence chief who landed in Israel before the attack.

Daniel

Right. Different source, same question. What reached the Prime Minister, and what was done with it.

Maya

Is Bar claiming he did nothing wrong himself?

Daniel

No, and that's interesting. In the suit he acknowledges his own responsibility for the intelligence failures. He says he wants the truth revealed in court.

Maya

So it's not, I'm innocent. It's, I failed, but not the way you said.

Daniel

That's a fair summary. He also cites his opposition to policies that, he alleges, ended up funding Hamas.

Maya

Meaning the cash that flowed into Gaza over the years.

Daniel

That's the area he's pointing to, yes. And Netanyahu's position all along has been that the security services didn't give him a clear warning. Now a court may get to weigh both versions.

Maya

What comes next?

Daniel

Netanyahu's legal response. And with the election close, every page of this filing becomes campaign material.

Maya

Now a terrible story from Beitar Illit. That's an ultra-Orthodox city just southwest of Jerusalem.

Daniel

A ten-year-old boy died there on Wednesday. A recycling bin was burning, there was an explosion, and an object was thrown out by the blast. It struck the boy, and his injuries were fatal.

Maya

What do investigators think caused it?

Daniel

Initial reports suggest children set the bin on fire, and an aerosol can inside exploded. But investigators stress they're still determining the exact cause.

Maya

An aerosol can. Something in every kitchen.

Daniel

Right, and that's the warning here. Pressurized cans in a fire can burst with real force. A burning trash bin is not something to stand near.

Maya

A family has lost a child. We'll follow the investigation.

Daniel

To diplomacy, and a big win for Israel in Latin America.

Maya

Colombia is back. And it's not just back, it's in Jerusalem.

Daniel

Colombia inaugurated its embassy in Jerusalem on Wednesday. According to Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, it's the tenth country to place its embassy there.

Maya

And two years ago these two countries weren't speaking.

Daniel

Right. The previous Colombian government cut ties with Israel. The new President, Abelardo de la Espriella, promised during his campaign to restore them. He's delivered.

Maya

What else comes with the embassy?

Daniel

The free trade agreement is back in force. They plan to expand cooperation in security, technology and trade. And Colombia has withdrawn from the Hague Group.

Maya

Remind people what that is.

Daniel

An international coalition of countries that set out to target Israel over the war in Gaza. Colombia leaving it is a real reversal.

Maya

And the reaction in Jerusalem?

Daniel

Prime Minister Netanyahu welcomed the renewed relationship. Saar called it a major diplomatic achievement. And Colombia's Foreign Minister, Omar Bula Escobar, called it a historic event.

Maya

Two years from rupture to an embassy in the capital. That's a fast turnaround.

Daniel

It is. And Bula Escobar is in Israel for high-level meetings, so there's more to come.

Maya

Now a security case that's hard to hear. A soldier who wasn't really a soldier.

Daniel

The Beersheba District Court sentenced Shehadeh Abu Al-Kiaan, a Bedouin citizen of Israel, to twenty-four and a half years in prison. He collaborated with a terrorist organization in Gaza and infiltrated the I D F.

Maya

Infiltrated how far?

Daniel

He stole weapons and passed on intelligence about Israeli targets. He was arrested just eight days after enlisting.

Maya

Eight days. So someone was watching.

Daniel

Clearly. On top of the prison term, there's a suspended sentence and a fine. And his citizenship is under review.

Maya

What did prosecutors say?

Daniel

They stressed the exceptional gravity of an Israeli citizen aiding terrorists. Most Bedouin who serve do so loyally, which is part of why a betrayal like this lands so hard.

Maya

Gaza now, and a strike you might not expect. Gaza's merchants are refusing to work.

Daniel

Because of Hamas. The merchants say the terrorist organization has been making extortionate demands and threats. The trigger was Hamas arresting a merchant's son.

Maya

So Hamas is squeezing the people who bring food in.

Daniel

Right. And Major General Yoram Halevy, an Israeli official, warns this could cut goods entering the Strip by fifty percent.

Maya

And let me guess who gets blamed.

Daniel

That's the concern. The warning is that Hamas could blame Israel for a shortage that Hamas itself is causing.

Maya

Separately, arrests in the West Bank.

Daniel

The I D F and the Shin Bet arrested five people for alleged cooperation with Hamas and with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, another terrorist organization. According to security officials, the money moved through so-called charitable organizations.

Maya

Charity as cover. Not a new trick.

Daniel

No, and it's one Israel watches closely.

Maya

A quick round. Argentina is going to an international court, and an Israeli company is in the middle of it.

Daniel

Argentina asked the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea to order an emergency halt to U K led drilling near the Falkland Islands. Argentina says it violates international law, because of the sovereignty dispute.

Maya

And the Israeli angle?

Daniel

An Israeli company is involved in the drilling. The tribunal does have the power to issue an injunction, so it's one to watch.

Maya

Money at home. The income gap in Israel.

Daniel

Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics says that in twenty twenty-four, the top tenth of households earned almost seven times what the bottom tenth earned. Net monthly income was forty-nine thousand, four hundred and ninety-six shekels at the top, versus seven thousand, two hundred and seventy-six at the bottom.

Maya

And spending?

Daniel

Much closer. The top tenth spent less than double what the bottom spent. Housing was the biggest expense. And inequality actually dipped slightly, with the Gini coefficient falling to zero point three three three.

Maya

Lower is more equal, for those who skipped economics class.

Daniel

Correct. I didn't skip, for the record.

Maya

Noted. And finally, helicopters.

Daniel

The cabinet approved moving one billion shekels to rescue a deal with Boeing for twelve Apache attack helicopters. That deal had collapsed over a funding fight between the Finance and Defense ministries.

Maya

Where's the money coming from?

Daniel

It's being reallocated from Arab community development, drawn from future budgets through twenty twenty-nine, with more from other government funds. And it still needs final approval, even though the ordering deadline has already passed.

Maya

So, a race against a clock that's already stopped.

Daniel

More or less.

Maya

The thing to watch today is Colombian Foreign Minister Omar Bula Escobar's meetings in Israel, and what new deals on security, technology and trade come out of them.

Daniel

Follow Good Morning, Israel so tomorrow's episode is waiting for you.

Maya

See you tomorrow morning.