From the Liveblog of
Monday, March 17, 2025
Report: Shin Bet probe tied Oct. 7 directly to PM’s policy of sending Qatari money to Gaza, may be another reason he’s firing Bar
An annex to the Shin Bet’s internal probe of its own October 7 failures, which has not been published, but was given to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, directly ties the prime minister and his policies to the catastrophe, Channel 12 reports.
The TV report suggests that the annex, which it says amounts to an “astounding indictment” of Netanyahu, constitutes a “possible further reason” why the prime minister is firing Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar.
The document, which is entitled “The Path to October 7,” makes clear beyond all doubt that Netanyahu’s policy of buying calm in Gaza, by having Qatar send vast sums of money into the Hamas-run Strip, was maintained “despite multiple warnings issued by the Shin Bet to the prime minister [ahead of the Hamas invasion] that Israel was facing a disaster,” the TV report says.
It says the document, whose findings and conclusions were also based on Hamas documentation found in Gaza tunnels and on interrogations of Hamas detainees, establishes that the Qatari money was used to strengthen Hamas.
The Shin Bet document further reportedly says that “the entire security doctrine that Netanyahu had led for years collapsed” on October 7. Therefore, the document reportedly states, “a thorough investigation of the nature of a state commission is needed.”
The Shin Bet released a summary of its internal probe on March 4. Its published summation cites several factors that enabled Hamas to build up its forces for the October 7 onslaught, and decide to carry out the attack. Among the reasons cited: Israel’s policy vis-à-vis Gaza was to maintain periods of quiet, which enabled Hamas’s massive force build-up; the flow of money from Qatar to Gaza and its delivery to Hamas’s military wing; an ongoing erosion of Israel’s deterrence, and an attempt to deal with a terror organization based on intelligence and defensive measures, while avoiding offensive initiatives.
Channel 12 further reports that an official known only as “Mem,” the current deputy of the Shin Bet, is Netanyahu’s leading candidate to succeed Bar, but that this is not final. It notes that “Mem” held that position on October 7 and that might prevent his appointment.
The TV report also quotes sources close to Bar saying that he feels that he is defending values that are “larger than the security service,” and that he regards the current crisis as “a real threat to democracy and to the state.”
The issue is not the fate of Ronen Bar, the sources are quoted saying, but rather the well-being of the state.
The Times of Israel Community.