Former Shin Bet chief sues Netanyahu over October 7 blame

Jerusalem: Ronen Bar, former chief of Israel's Shin Bet domestic security agency, on Wednesday filed a 3 million shekel (around 975,000 US dollars) defamation lawsuit against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over allegations concerning responsibility for the failures to prevent the Hamas-led surprise attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

In the lawsuit, Bar argued that Netanyahu made false accusations against him to evade responsibility for the October 7 events and place the blame exclusively on Bar, who served as Shin Bet chief between 2021 and 2025.

Bar acknowledged the Shin Bet's share of responsibility for the attack, but accused Netanyahu of spreading a "blood libel" by claiming that Bar had advance knowledge of the October 7 attack but chose not to alert the relevant authorities and withheld the information.

The lawsuit includes a timeline of warnings of an impending disaster that Bar claimed he presented to Netanyahu beginning in November 2022, which he alleged were ignored or met with inadequate responses, Xinhua news agency reported.

He also pointed to what he described as Netanyahu's responsibility for a policy of containment toward Hamas, maintaining calm in Gaza and allowing the group to strengthen its military capabilities through funding.

Bar added that the absence of steps toward establishing a state commission of inquiry to uncover the facts, alongside reports of alleged attempts to falsify protocols and incitement against security chiefs, contributed to his decision to file the lawsuit now.

Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, Netanyahu issued a brief response, saying that Bar could have contacted him immediately on the night of October 7 through his secure phone line, and that lives could have been saved had Bar called in time.

Netanyahu and Bar had been in a standoff since early 2025 against the backdrop of a blame game over the failure to prevent the October 7 attack.

Netanyahu announced Bar's dismissal in March 2025, citing a loss of confidence in him, while Bar, in his response, reiterated his call for a state commission of inquiry to investigate "all relevant parties," including government policies and Netanyahu himself.

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