Netanyahu: ‘There were intelligence failures on October 7, but no treason’

Addressing a closed meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly says of October 7 that “there was a serious intelligence failure but there was no treason,” and claims that former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar falsified the protocol of a meeting held on the day of the attack.

When asked about the claims of treason by a committee member — presumably including those propagated by the premier’s son, Yair — Netanyahu says he wants to remove the “cloud of treason” from October 7.

According to Channel 12, Netanyahu insists that nobody thought that Hamas would attack ahead of that day.

The prime minister cites multiple discussions with senior officials, including Bar, former defense minister Benny Gantz and former prime minister Naftali Bennett, which he says show that they also believed Hamas was deterred. It is unclear from the reports when these apparent conversations took place.

Netanyahu also claims that he had wanted to assassinate Hamas leaders in 2014 but was opposed by the security establishment. Last week, the network reported that the premier turned down 11 chances to kill Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader in Gaza, in the months before October 7.

Netanyahu also reportedly claims to lawmakers on the committee that Bar falsified a document from early on the morning of October 7, adding in that he had called to update the premier. Bar stepped down from his position last year after Netanyahu moved to fire him from the role in a bitter dispute that ended up in the High Court.

Yesh Atid lawmakers walk out of the meeting in protest, with the party tweeting that they would “not participate in this media circus, which is intended to evade responsibility and turn the committee into an empty PR show.”

“Netanyahu arrived with pre-prepared messages from his office in a desperate attempt to engineer public perception and rewrite history, but no spin will blur the failure: 2,000 Israelis murdered, communities conquered, children burned, and citizens kidnapped on his watch,” the party tweets. “The faction members will continue to fight against his failed government so that such a debacle never happens again.”

Committee member MK Moshe Tur-Paz from Yesh Atid notes on X that Netanyahu told the committee two months before October 7 that “Hamas is deterred.”

In addition, Netanyahu promises that his government’s bill exempting yeshiva students from military service will soon pass.

Behadrei Haredim reporter Avraham Friend quotes Netanyahu as stating that “the conscription law will pass very soon… together with the law extending service to 36 months.”