Former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar sues Netanyahu for nearly $1M over Oct. 7 claims
Bar says Netanyahu ignored repeated warnings about Hamas and is seeking 3 million shekels in damages over claims he concealed intelligence failures.
- On Wednesday, former Shin Bet director Ronen Bar filed a libel suit against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Central-Lod District Court, disputing accusations that Bar concealed intelligence before the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre.
- Netanyahu's September 28 X post accused Bar of "failures and crimes," which Bar alleges is part of a coordinated campaign to shift responsibility for the massacre away from the prime minister and onto security agencies.
- The filing claims Netanyahu blocked offensive operations against Hamas and pursued "quiet at any price," including rejecting Bar's November 2022 recommendation to kill Yahya Sinwar, while Bar warned repeatedly of a "perfect storm" throughout 2023.
- Netanyahu countered on Wednesday, claiming Bar failed to call him on the night of October 7, while Bar asserts he followed standard procedures by notifying military secretary Avi Gil during the crisis.
- Seeking document disclosure, Bar continues to demand an independent state commission of inquiry and links the campaign against him to his opposition to using the Shin Bet as a "secret police" force against political protesters.
48 Articles
48 Articles
The former head of the Israeli domestic intelligence service Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, sued Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The reason: Netanyahu had knowingly accused him of being responsible for the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. Bar claims around EUR 873,000 in damages.
Two weeks before the legislature, Ronen Bar, who led the Shin Bet in 2023, filed a complaint for defamation against the Prime Minister, who had widely emphasized the responsibility of the security services.
Before the elections in Israel, there are reports that Prime Minister Netanyahu ignored warnings about the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. Netanyahu himself blames an ex-secretary chief, who now defends himself in court, revealing explosive details.
A case filed by Ronin Bar v. Netanyahu includes a series of security warnings prior to the 7 October attack, amid an exchange of accusations about intelligence failures, demands for the disclosure of documents and the establishment of a formal commission of inquiry.
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