Israel: Ex-secret service chief sues Netanyahu in dispute over warnings on October 7th

Former head of Israel's Shin Bet domestic intelligence service, Ronen Bar, has filed a defamation lawsuit against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The “Times of Israel” and “Haaretz” report this unanimously. The lawsuit is directed against Netanyahu's statement that Bar knew about the danger in the hours before the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 and deliberately did not inform him about it, writes the Times of Israel. At that time, Hamas terrorists from the Gaza Strip, among others, invaded Israel, kidnapped more than 250 and killed 1,200 people. Bar now claims, according to Haaretz, that he informed the Prime Minister's office in the hours before the attack. He also claims to have warned about the security situation in Gaza at least 20 times.

There were reports at the beginning of September that Netanyahu had been warned in advance of the attack. Haaretz reported that Netanyahu spoke on the phone with Mohamed bin Zayed, ruler of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a week and a half before the Hamas attack. He warned Netanyahu that Hamas boss Yahya Sinwar was planning an operation against Israel. According to the Haaretz report, the Israeli prime minister did not pass on the information to decision-makers in the security apparatus.

An investigation by the New York Times supported the representation. Accordingly, Netanyahu called the security chiefs to a meeting on October 1st about the situation in the Gaza Strip, but he is said not to have mentioned the warning.

Now, according to reports, ex-secret service chief Bar says he warned Netanyahu on August 21st about a "dramatic escalation." On October 1, he called for preemptive strikes against Hamas leaders because the risk of an attack was so high. In total, Bar lists at least 20 warnings, according to the reports.

On the morning of October 7th, Bar informed Prime Minister Netanyahu's office at 3:55 a.m. out of fear of an attack. Also because he doesn't have the Prime Minister's personal telephone number. Prime Minister Netanyahu rejects this accusation in his reaction to the lawsuit against X. Bar had the number and many lives could have been saved if he had called in time, the Times of Israel quoted the prime minister as saying.

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