(Cairo = Yonhap News) Correspondent Kim Sang-hoon = On October 7, 2023, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who tried to shift responsibility for failing to prevent Hamas' surprise attack to security agencies and military leaders, ended up facing a backlash.
When Prime Minister Netanyahu, who had ignored numerous prior warnings in the months preceding the raid, instead turned the blame on the security chiefs and others, the enraged former head of the intelligence agency launched a direct rebuttal by filing a large defamation lawsuit against Prime Minister Netanyahu.
According to local media such as the Times of Israel on the 14th (local time), reporter Jeremy Sharon reported that Ronen Bar, former director of Israel's domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet, filed a defamation suit worth 3 million shekels (about 1.3 billion won) against Prime Minister Netanyahu.
This lawsuit was triggered by Prime Minister Netanyahu's blatant transfer of responsibility for the security disaster, saying, "On the day of the raid on October 7, former director Bar knew of the imminent attack by Hamas but did not inform him, the prime minister."
In his complaint, former Director Bar revealed a detailed 'warning timeline' that debunked Prime Minister Netanyahu's claims.
In response to Prime Minister Netanyahu's attempt to impose the yoke of intelligence failure, he presented the circumstances that he had continuously sent strong warning signals months before the surprise attack.
According to the complaint, former Director Bar delivered a strategic warning about war to Prime Minister Netanyahu through a secure communication network on July 23, 2023, about two months before Hamas' surprise attack, and stated directly that the enemy was looking for an opportunity to take advantage of the divisions within Israel, so a preemptive strike should be launched.
Subsequently, at a working meeting on August 21 of the same year, he warned that “attack orders from the Gaza Strip are dramatically escalating” and ordered offensive activities, and on September 14 and 17, he repeatedly urged that deterrence be strengthened immediately in preparation for the inevitable “trajectory of conflict,” saying “unusual messages have been received.”
On October 1, six days before the surprise attack, he even recommended targeted assassinations of key terrorist leaders, saying, "The terrorist groups' intent to attack has reached its peak," but it was ultimately not put into practice.
Former Director Bahr claimed that he clearly reported the situation to Prime Minister Netanyahu's military secretariat at 3:55 a.m. on October 7, the day of the raid.
Former Director Bar made it clear that he was not trying to evade responsibility, and directly criticized Prime Minister Netanyahu's behavior, which was bent on shifting responsibility.
He wrote in his complaint, “As the head of the Shin Bet, I am responsible for failing to properly provide the required information, so I bowed my head in apology to the bereaved families and resigned from my position.”
He continued, "Despite the continued slander, we have been quietly waiting for the formation of a national investigation committee that will finally expose the Shin Bet's mistakes and actions, but we have decided not to remain silent any longer due to the prime minister's reckless verbal abuse and shifting responsibility."
After an unprecedented security disaster in southern Israel in which about 1,200 people died and 251 were kidnapped as hostages due to a surprise attack by Hamas, Prime Minister Netanyahu has been subject to strong criticism as circumstances have been revealed one after another that he ignored repeated advance warnings from intelligence authorities.
