From the Liveblog of
Saturday, February 7, 2026
Lapid accuses PM of manipulating secret documents, engaging in deception regarding Oct. 7
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid accuses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of ignoring intelligence warnings ahead of October 7, and claims the premier attempted to eliminate any signs of his own culpability for the attack from the documents he submitted as part of the state comptroller’s now-frozen inquiry into the attack.
Netanyahu on Thursday attempted to distance himself from the failures of October 7 by releasing the full 55-page document of his answers, including selective citations that appeared aimed at pinning the failure to prevent the onslaught on political rivals and security chiefs.
In his own 12-page response released this evening, which he frames as the perspective of a senior politician who receives regular security updates, Lapid says he attended a briefing with Netanyahu on August 21, 2023, in which intelligence materials “clearly indicated a risk of flare-ups at levels completely different from anything we’ve known in years.”
This led him to issue a warning the following month at a press conference, during which he stated that “we are approaching a violent, multi-front confrontation” without predicting a full-on invasion from Gaza.
“If the opposition leader knew, how can the prime minister claim he didn’t know?” Lapid asks.
He accuses Netanyahu of following a destructive policy of strengthening Hamas as an opposing force to the Palestinian Authority, a course of action which he says led to October 7 and which Netanyahu tried to obfuscate in his submission to the state comptroller while “relying on a series of manipulations of secret documents, deliberate deceptions, false versions and a consistent attempt to place the blame on his subordinates.”
Netanyahu’s policies led him to ignore or miss opportunities to eliminate Hamas leaders, channel Qatari funds to Gaza and ignore intelligence warnings that the cash was funding Hamas’ military wing, he claims.
Lapid also asks where Netanyahu was between hearing of the attack at 6:29 a.m. and holding an initial assessment three-and-a-half hours later, stating that while the prime minister claimed to have arrived at IDF headquarters at 8:00 a.m., his own bureau stated he had only left his home at that time.
Lapid further accuses Netanyahu of omitting security recommendations by the Shin Bet and IDF leadership to prepare for flare-up scenarios in Gaza from documents submitted to the state comptroller.
The Times of Israel Community.